MLB free agency: 8 O's into pool; Giolito opts in

NEW YORK — Outfielder Juan Soto, pitchers Corbin Burnes, Walker Buehler and Max Fried and first baseman Pete Alonso were among 136 players who became free agents Thursday morning.

Third baseman Alex Bregman, outfielder Anthony Santander and shortstop Willy Adames also went free.

There were 64 more players with pending option decisions who could become free agents by Monday, the fifth day after the World Series.

Teams and players can start discussing contract terms at 5:01 p.m. EST on Monday, after the deadline for teams to make $21.05 million qualifying offers to eligible free agents.

Pitcher Justin Verlander became a free agent after he failed to pitch 140 innings this year, the amount that would have triggered his ability to exercise a $35 million conditional player option. If he had exercised the option, the New York Mets would have been obligated to give an additional $17.5 million to Houston as part of last year’s trade that sent the three-time Cy Young Award winner back to the Astros.

Among those with pending club options are Atlanta designated hitter Marcell Ozuna ($16 million), and New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo ($17 million) and reliever Luke Weaver ($2.5 million).

Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole can opt out of his contract but the team can void the opt out by adding a $36 million salary for 2029.

Those with player options include pitchers Blake Snell of San Francisco ($30 million, of which $15 million would be deferred), Nick Martinez of Cincinnati ($12 million), Sean Manaea of the Mets ($13.5 million), Nathan Eovaldi of Texas ($20 million) and Michael Wacha of Kansas City ($16 million), along with Chicago Cubs first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger ($27.5 million).

Jordan Montgomery of Arizona exercised his $22.5 million player option for 2025.

Snell and Flaherty are ineligible for the qualifying offers. A free agent can be made a qualifying offer only if he has been with the same team continuously since opening day and has never received a qualifying offer before.

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

ORIOLES: Burnes, the Cy Young Award winner, and Santander were among the eight players from the Baltimore Orioles to enter free agency on Thursday.

The right-handed Burnes, 30, was 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA in 32 games in his first season with the Orioles after being traded by the Milwaukee Brewers, with whom he won the National League Cy Young Award in 2021.

Santander, also 30, hit .235 in 2024 but had 44 home runs and drove in 102 runs.

Also taking the step were right-hander Brooks Kriske, left-handed pitcher John Means, catcher James McCann and outfielder Austin Slater. Outfielder Daniel Johnson and right-handed pitcher Burch Smith chose free agency instead of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.

RED SOX: Right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito exercised his $19 million player option for the 2025 season, the Boston Red Sox announced.

The move was expected after Giolito, 30, had surgery in March on his pitching elbow. The internal brace repair to his ulnar collateral ligament kept him from playing in his first season with the Red Sox after signing a two-year, $38.5 million offseason contract with Boston that included a player option for 2025.

An All-Star in 2019 for the Chicago White Sox, when he also finished sixth in American League Cy Young Award voting, Giolito has struggled in recent seasons, delivering a 4.90 ERA in 2022 and a 4.88 mark last season when he went 8-15 while pitching for the White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Guardians.

In eight major league seasons, Giolito is 61-62 in 180 appearances (178 starts) and has a 4.43 ERA with 1,077 strikeouts in 1,013⅔ innings.

WHITE SOX: The White Sox declined to exercise their 2025 option on infielder Yoan Moncada, who will receive a $5 million buyout and become a free agent. He signed a five-year, $70 million contract extension after the 2019 season.

The White Sox acquired Moncada, now 29, in December 2016 as part of the trade that sent left-hander Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox. Injuries limited him to 92 games in 2023 and 12 games in 2024.

With the White Sox, he appeared in 739 games with a .254 batting average, 93 homers and 338 RBIs.

CARDINALS: The St. Louis Cardinals declined the options on right-handed pitchers Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn and Keynan Middleton.

Gibson, 37, was 8-8 with a 4.24 ERA after signing with the Cardinals last November. He earned $12 million last season and had an option for the same amount in 2025. He will receive a $1 million buyout.

Lynn, 37, signed a one-year, $10 million contract for 2024 with an $11 million option for 2025. He was 7-4 with a 3.84 ERA.

Middleton, 31, underwent season-ending flexor repair surgery on his right forearm in June and didn’t pitch all season.

He last pitched in 2023 with the White Sox and New York Yankees, finishing 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA and two saves in 51 relief appearances.

BREWERS: Pitcher Wade Miley‘s $12 million mutual option for 2025 with the Brewers has been declined, making the veteran left-hander a free agent. He still gets a $1.5 million buyout.

Miley, who turns 38 on Nov. 13, made just two starts this season before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He posted an 0-1 record and a 6.43 ERA. That followed an impressive 2023 season in which he went 9-4 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts.

Miley owns a 108-99 career record with a 4.07 ERA and 1,361 strikeouts with eight teams since 2011.

The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.