Soto among 13 free agents to receive $21.05 million qualifying offers. Cole staying with Yankees

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes and Willy Adames were among 13 free agents who received $21.05 million qualifying offers on Monday.

Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman and Max Fried also were given the one-year offer before Monday's deadline. Players have until 4 p.m. EST on Nov. 19 to accept.

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

In other news Monday, ace pitcher Gerrit Cole decided to remain with the New York Yankees rather than become a free agent.

As a 5 p.m. EST deadline approached, both sides agreed to rescind their rights and worked out the language with Major League Baseball and the players’ association.

“Maybe the grass isn’t always greener,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “I think he’s happy where he’s at."

Atlanta picked up All-Star designated hitter Marcell Ozuna’s $16 million option for 2025 and turned down options on 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 became a free agent after declining a $20 million option for next season with the Rangers. Eovaldi will get a $2 million buyout from an option that vested when he threw more than 300 innings over his two years with Texas.

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

Fellow outfielder Teoscar Hernández 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.

Coming off a surprising run to the National League Championship Series, the New York Mets made qualifying offers to Alonso and starting pitchers Sean Manaea and Luis Severino.

Baltimore offered Burnes and outfielder Anthony Santander.

No other team made more than one qualifying offer.

Other players given the offer were Arizona first baseman Christian Walker and Cincinnati right-hander Nick Martinez. Adames was offered by Milwaukee, Bregman by Houston, and Fried 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 with no draft picks attached.

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.

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

A 34-year-old right-hander, Cole won the 2023 AL Cy Young Award. His 2024 season didn’t start until June 19 because of nerve irritation and edema in his 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.

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández (37) and Shohei Ohtani celebrate after the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández hits a two-run double against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

New York Yankees' Juan Soto, center, hits a home run off Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) during the third inning in Game 2 of the baseball World Series, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

New York Yankees' Juan Soto, right, watches his home run along with Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith during the third inning in Game 2 of the baseball World Series, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Muslim pilgrims from around the world congregated on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the second official day of the annual Islamic pilgrimage, considered the pinnacle of the Hajj.

Despite the sweltering heat, the pilgrims gathered on the rocky hill and surrounding plain for intense prayers and worship that often mark a spiritual peak for them. They fervently murmured prayers and poured their hearts out in supplications. Many raised their hands in worship. It is common for pilgrims on that day, some with tears streaming down their faces, to ask God for forgiveness, mercy, blessings and good health.

The Hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is required once in a lifetime for every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to perform it.

For pilgrims, the Hajj, performed over several days, can be a deeply moving spiritual experience and a chance to seek God’s forgiveness and the erasure of past sins. As they brave the intense heat to perform religious rituals, many pilgrims have been using umbrellas for shade.

A Saudi official said on Friday that more than 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in the country from abroad.

This year, Muslims have been pouring into Saudi Arabia for the Hajj against the backdrop of a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war and related uncertainty in the region.

The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats used to lay mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations with Tehran were “proceeding nicely." Iran on Tuesday denounced the most recent U.S. strikes as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability” as negotiations pressed on toward a possible deal to end the war.

For many, performing the Hajj can be a realization of a lifelong dream as they spend years hoping and praying to one day be able to undertake the pilgrimage or saving up money and waiting for a permit to embark on the trip.

“This happens once in a lifetime,” Mohammad Asal, an Egyptian pilgrim, said. “People here have prepared their prayers, hoping that God will respond to them, because we know that ... the most important ritual of the Hajj is being in Arafat.”

The Hajj brings together large numbers of Muslims of diverse races, ethnicities, languages and socioeconomic classes, creating a sense of unity for many. It’s a mass, communal experience, with Muslims performing rituals together. But it is also deeply personal, as every pilgrim brings their own yearnings and experiences.

“It was incredible,” Ahmed Sufyan, a pilgrim from the United States, said on Tuesday. “The unity and peace that we feel is something I’ve never experienced before,” he added via WhatsApp.

“Our wishes are many,” Mohammad Obaid, a Sudanese pilgrim, said, adding he was praying for Sudan and Muslims everywhere.

Fam reported from Winter Park, Florida.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

A Muslim pilgrim pray atop of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims walk towards the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims are silhouetted as they pray at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims pray at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims read a copy of Islam's holy book Quran atop of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)