Dodgers & Yankees Key Players Among Top 3 Notable UFAs Not Receiving Qualifying Offers

For the long list of new free agents in major league baseball, some of the most desirable ones to rival teams will be the ones who did not receive a qualifying offer, as that means that any signing team will not have to surrender a draft pick as compensation.

After Monday's deadline came and went, the 3 most notable free agents who fit this category, not receiving a $21 qualifying offer from their teams include two fairly large surprises in Walker Buehler and Gleyber Torres.

most notable free agents who did NOT receive a qualifying offer:

Jurickson Profar
Gleyber Torres
Walker Buehler https://t.co/VcjMDbtxc6
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) November 4, 2024

Buehler was one of the LA Dodgers' heroes in their run to the World Series championship this year, pitching 10 straight shutout innings in the NLCS and WS.

He was an ace of the LA staff from 2018 through 2021, until suffering an elbow injury in 2022 that resulted in Tommy John surgery. He missed the entire 2023 season and struggled mightily in the regular season upon his comeback this year. He compiled a 1-6 mark with a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts. But he certainly seemed to recapture his ace stuff in the playoffs.

Torres was a two-time All-Star when he burst onto the scene with the New York Yankees in 2018-19, racking up 62 home runs over that period. He came down to earth and struggled for a couple of seasons, before settling into a reliable 25-HR option in 2022-23. He slid back a bit this season, finishing with a league-average OPS+ and just 15 homers. It will be interesting to see if the Yankees try to sign him back for a more reasonable amount.

Profar's lack of a qualifying offer is only a surprise after his tremendous bounce-back 2024 season, in which he launched a career-high 24 HR and 85 RBIs with the highest OPS (.839) and OPS+ (134) of his 11-year career. Obviously, the San Diego Padres are betting that, going into his age-32 season, Profar will not be able to repeat that performance, and that's a pretty reasonable bet.