Soto is among 13 free agents who received qualifying offers worth $21.05 million. Cole will remain with the Yankees

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Juan Soto, Corbin Burns and Willie Adams were among 13 free agents which received $21.05 million in qualifying bids on Monday.

Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman and Max Fried also received one-year offers before Monday’s deadline. Players have until November 19th at 4:00 pm EST to accept the offer.

If they do so, they will be under contract with their club until 2024 for one more season. If they decline and sign elsewhere, their new team must forfeit their draft picks and their previous organization must receive at least one draft pick as compensation.

In other Monday news: Ace pitcher Gerrit Cole has decided to stay with the New York Yankees instead of becoming a free agent.

As the 5:00 pm EST deadline approached, both sides agreed to waive their rights and worked out language with Major League Baseball and the players’ association.

“The grass may not always be greener,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “I think he’s happy where he is.”

Atlanta acquired All-Star forward Marcel Ozuna $16 million option for 2025 and waived right-hander Luke Jackson and catcher Travis d’Arnaud.

Jackson’s option was for $7 million with a $2 million buyout, and d’Arnaud’s option was for $8 million with no buyout.

Texas pitcher Nathan Eovaldi becomes a free agent after declining his $20 million option for next season with the Rangers. Evaldi will receive a $2 million buyout on an option that was exercised after he pitched more than 300 innings in two years at Texas.

After losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series last week, the Yankees predictably made Soto a qualifying offer, the biggest prize on the free agent market.

Fellow outfielder Teoscar Hernandez received a qualifying offer from the Dodgers.

Perhaps the biggest surprise among the group was Boston pitcher Nick Pivetta, who went 6-12 with a 4.14 ERA in 145 2/3 innings this year.

After their unexpected success in the National League Championship Series, the New York Mets extended qualifying offers to Alonso and starting pitchers Sean Manea and Luis Severino.

Baltimore offered Burns and outfielder Anthony Santander.

No other team made more than one qualifying offer.

Other players who received offers were Arizona first baseman Christian Walker and Cincinnati right-hander Nick Martinez. Adames was offered by Milwaukee, Bregman by Houston, and Frida by Atlanta.

Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler and St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt were among the eligible free agents who did not receive a qualifying offer. They can sign elsewhere without being tied to a draft pick.

A free agent can only be given a qualifying offer if he has played continuously for the same team since opening day and has never received a qualifying offer before.

Qualifying offers began after the 2012 season, and only 13 of 131 offers were accepted.

Cole’s nine-year, $324 million contract through the 2020 season gave him the right to opt out after the 2024 World Series, but said the Yankees could void the waiver by adding a $36 million salary to his contract for 2029 year.

34-year-old right-hander Cole won the 2023 AL Cy Young Award. His 2024 season did not begin until June 19 due to nerve irritation and swelling in right elbow. The six-time All-Star went 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts, then was 1-0 with a 2.17 ERA in five postseason starts.

___

AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick in New York contributed to this report.

___

AP MLB: