NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees closer David Bednar, Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki and Seattle outfielder Randy Arozarena were among eight players who received $23.15 million qualifying offers from their teams Monday.
Milwaukee first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers and Baltimore left-hander Trevor Rogers also received the offers along with Minnesota catcher Ryan Jeffers, Pittsburgh second baseman Brandon Lowe and San Diego left-hander Adrian Morejon.
Players have until Nov. 17 to accept.
Qualifying offers began after the 2012 season, and only 18 of 157 prior offers have been accepted. The figure is determined by the average of the top 125 major league contracts this year.
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.
If a team makes a qualifying offer to a player who signs a major league contract with another club before the next amateur draft, his former club receives draft pick compensation at the end of the first round or at the end of competitive balance round B. The placement depends on the amount of the new contract and the revenue-sharing and luxury tax status of the team losing the player.
Among those not receiving an offer was Philadelphia third baseman Alex Bohm.
Twenty-eight more players became free agents, raising the total to 183. Players could start negotiating terms with all teams at 5 p.m. Eastern on Monday.
Major League Baseball is expected to impose a lockout when the collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, likely creating a signing frenzy in the run-up.
Baltimore declined a $7.5 million option on first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, limited to eight games this year by a broken left foot sustained when he stumbled while on the basepaths on April 8. The Orioles turned down a $3.5 million option on left-hander Dietrich Enns, which called for a $125,000 buyout.
Corbin Burnes decided not to opt out of the final four seasons of his $210 million, six-year contract with Arizona. The deal calls for $35 million annual salaries, including $11 million deferred each year. The 32-year-old right-hander returned to the major leagues on Sept. 8 after a 15-month recovery from Tommy John surgery, made three starts and went back on the injured list because of shoulder inflammation.
Toronto right-hander José Berríos decided not to opt out of the final two seasons of his $131 million, seven-year contract, which call for salaries of $24 million per season. The 32-year-old did not pitch this year and is recovering from Tommy John surgery on May 20.
Athletics right-hander Luis Severino exercised a $22 million player option for 2027, the last season of a $67 million, three-year contract agreed to in December 2025. The 32-year-old was 2-6 with a 4.16 ERA in 12 starts, not pitching after May 29 because of a strained right shoulder.
Baltimore reliever Ryan Helsley did not opt out of his $14 million salary next season, part of a $28 million, two-year contract. The 32-year-old right-hander was 0-4 with a 4.11 ERA and eight saves in 17 relief appearances. He didn’t pitch for the Orioles between April 28 and June 17 because of right elbow inflammation, returned for five outings and then went back on the IL with elbow discomfort. He did not pitch again this season.
Houston right-hander Tatsuya Imai did not opt out of the final two seasons of a $54 million, three-year contract, which calls for salaries of $18 million in 2027 and 2028. Imai also has the right to opt out after next season. The 28-year-old was 6-4 with a 4.93 ERA in 15 starts and eight relief appearances.
Chicago Cubs right-handers Clay Holmes, Hunter Harvey and Colin Rea became free agents along with left-hander Caleb Thielbar after their 2027 options were declined, while righty Jacob Webb agreed to a $2.5 million, one-year contract.
Arizona right-hander Michael Soroka declined his $10 million mutual option for 2027, triggering a $1 million buyout. Soroka, 29, was 9-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 21 starts and one relief appearance after signing a one-year contract that guaranteed $7.5 million. He earned $1.35 million in performance bonuses. He was sidelined between June 19 and Aug. 10 by a left glute strain.
Cleveland declined right-hander Shawn Armstrong’s $8 million mutual option in favor of a $1.5 million buyout. The 36-year-old had a one-year deal guaranteeing $5.5 million and went 2-1 with a 4.58 ERA in 41 relief appearances. He was out between July 24 and Sept. 23 because of a strained left calf.
World Series champion Milwaukee declined an $8.5 million mutual option on catcher Gary Sánchez, who gets a $250,000 buyout as part of a one-year contract guaranteeing $1.75 million. The Brewers also turned down a $14 million option on right-hander Antonio Senzatela, part of a $50.5 million, five-year contract he agreed to with Colorado.
Detroit declined a $12 million option on reliever Kenley Jansen. The 39-year-old right-hander, third on the career list with 498 saves, gets a $2 million buyout as part of an $11 million, one-year contract. The Tigers exercised a $10 million option on right-hander Drew Anderson, who had a $7 million salary this year.
Toronto declined an $8 million option on outfielder Myles Straw, who gets a $1.75 million buyout that completes a $25 million, five-year contract he signed with Cleveland.
St. Louis declined a $6 million option on right-hander Ryne Stanek, who gets a $1 million buyout as part of a contract guaranteeing $3.5 million.
Tampa Bay’s Yandy Díaz’s option vested at $13 million after the Rays deemed him healthy for 2027. Díaz reached the 500 plate appearances needed for the option to become guaranteed and had to meet the second provision.
Among players who would have been eligible for arbitration if their options had been declined, Milwaukee exercised catcher William Contreras, the World Series MVP, at $14.5 million; Tampa Bay exercised Gold Glove shortstop Taylor Walls at $3.1 million; and Houston exercised infielder Isaac Paredes at $13.35 million.
San Francisco declined an $800,000 option on right-hander Rowan Wick, who gets a $100,000 buyout. If tendered a 2027 contract, he would be eligible for arbitration.
Detroit agreed to a $1.3 million, one-year contract with right-hander Jacob Waguespack, who can earn $300,000 in performance bonuses based on innings; $25,000 each for 45 and 50, and $50,000 apiece for 55, 60 and 65.
Baltimore outfielder Heston Kjerstad became a minor league free agent after clearing waivers. Kjerstad was the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft and has played 117 games across four seasons in the majors.
The Orioles could have forced Kjerstad to accept assignment to their Triple-A team but instead released him, according to a person with knowledge of the move, speaking on condition of anonymity because it hadn't been announced.
Baltimore outfielder Leody Taveras cleared waivers and elected free agency.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers warms up prior to Game 4 of baseball's World Series, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
The skies were clearing, but the risk of flooding remained over parts of the U.S. Southwest after powerful downpours sent massive amounts of water surging over the usually dry landscape, forcing hundreds to evacuate and keeping swift-water rescue teams busy.
Officials said cleanup and repair efforts could take weeks. One person died in the floodwaters and police suspect a second death was weather-related.
The National Weather Service said Monday that isolated cloudbursts were still possible across the Four Corners region — where New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah meet — as the phenomenon stoked by warming Pacific waters known as El Niño disrupts weather patterns.
Damage was widespread in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, a town of about 2,000. Officials feared the San Juan River that flows through it would top a level that nearly wiped out the town in 1911. The river reached 16.81 feet (5.1 meters) Sunday — a foot lower than the historic level — flooding downtown streets before receding Monday, the weather service said.
An entire home was lifted from its foundation and floated down the river before crashing into a pedestrian bridge. A section of a road bridge west of town crumbled under raging waters, said Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Vicki Shaffer.
Dozens of people were rescued across the region, including some by helicopter. Shaffer said first responders were searching for people who may be stranded.
“That will continue, just like last week, until we’re sure that everybody who was trapped by the floodwaters has been rescued,” she said.
The Colorado Department of Transportation reopened several closed bridges and roadways late Monday. Shaffer said evacuation orders remain in place, though she wasn't sure how many people were affected.
Pagosa Springs had just lifted an evacuation order from a previous storm, only to reimpose it Saturday.
More than 20 trillion gallons of rain have fallen on the Four Corners states and Nevada in the past two weeks, according to calculations by former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue.
With Election Day coming, officials in Colorado and Utah arranged alternative voting plans for evacuated or stranded residents.
Utah said Monday that residents of hard-hit San Juan County will be allowed to vote electronically because some of them may not be able to reach polling places.
Evacuations were ordered along the San Juan River in New Mexico, which officials warned was still rising and could crest Tuesday through Wednesday. The village of Chama, New Mexico, was also evacuated and cut off by road closures.
Residents had to leave their homes along the Animas River in southwestern Colorado, where Durango police Chief Brice Current said authorities were checking Monday on those who rode out the flooding at home.
"There's still a lot of people stranded,” Current said.
Willow Bradner and her family have been staying in a hotel since their Durango home flooded this weekend.
“We went from ‘we’re going to be safe’ to ‘pack a go-bag’ in 45 minutes,” she recalled. Her basement is now filled with water, with the house surrounded by more than 2 feet (60 centimeters) of mud.
On Monday, Greg Ewing was among some 200 community members who used shovels and skid steers to remove the mud in Bradner's neighborhood. “That’s the cool thing about Durango. It’s a really strong community. Everyone comes together,” Ewing said.
Record rainfall was reported across Arizona, including 7.3 inches (18.5 centimeters) over two days at Workman Creek, a wilderness area near Phoenix.
Flagstaff totaled 5.15 inches (13 centimeters) over two days, contributing to its wettest Nov. 1 ever recorded. The city typically has fewer than a handful of days per year of rain exceeding 1 inch (2.5 centimeters), said meteorologist Jennifer Tate with the NWS Weather Prediction Center.
“What really stood out to me was that this wasn’t localized. It was a very broad system that brought a lot of rain to a lot of places,” Tate said.
A man was seen falling into floodwaters rushing into a drainage tunnel in Flagstaff, where rain fell nearly nonstop Sunday. Police said the body of Williams Singavarapu, 73, of New York, was discovered Monday about 15 blocks from where he disappeared.
A second man was found dead Monday in a drainage area, Flagstaff police said, adding it appeared to be weather-related, pending an official determination on the cause of death.
In Sedona, floodwaters trapped several people in their homes, and heavy rain washed out part of a highway.
Nearby in Camp Verde, Doug Michaels was cooking dinner at an RV park when he saw people evacuating as water rose. He was able to get himself, his wife, cat and valuables to safety and raise his camper higher off the ground. But he said others fared much worse.
“It's devastating,” he said. “People lost their homes. The one lady doesn't even know where her camper is. It went down the river.”
Swift-water rescues also were conducted in Tucson, where weather service meteorologist Aaron Hardin said “we are getting two or three months of rain in a span of a couple of days.”
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs issued a statewide emergency declaration on Monday after recently issuing an emergency for Navajo and Coconino counties. The governors of New Mexico and Colorado asked President Donald Trump to declare a major disaster to receive federal funding assistance.
Ryan Benally spent the weekend building dirt berms to divert floodwaters from his parents’ home on the Navajo Nation near Montezuma Creek, Utah. So far, the barriers have held, though parts of their small cattle ranch were under water.
Benally, an assistant professor at Utah State University, has been coordinating deliveries of bottled water, waterproof boots, toiletries and other supplies to shelters. Families who stayed at home were increasingly difficult to reach, he said, because access routes for some remote residents washed out.
Benally said his parents, both in their 60s, have lived in the area all their lives and have never seen flooding this severe.
“These storms have been one after another after another,” Benally said. “It’s compounding in ways people out here just weren’t prepared for.”
AP journalists Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Savannah Peters in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Gregory Bull in Durango, Colorado; Ross D. Franklin in Camp Verde, Arizona; and Jessica Hill in Las Vegas contributed.
Residents at a local RV park survey the damage of their mobile home after flooding of the Verde River in Camp Verde, Ariz., Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
A vehicle is submerged on the Piedras River after a series of storms on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Arboles, Colo. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Finnley Ewing uses a shovel to dig mud from a street in his neighborhood after a series of storms on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Durango, Colo. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Heavy rain and flooding inundated fields in Homelake, Colo., an unincorporated community near Monta Vista, on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
Finnley Ewing uses a shovel to dig mud from a street in his neighborhood after a series of storms on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Durango, Colo. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Neighbors clear mud and debris from a street after a series of storms on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Durango, Colo. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Allen Lynn surveys flooding on his property after a series of storms on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Durango, Colo. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
After heavy rains flood waters flow through the Continental Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
From left, Mateo Heras, Fr. Matt Lowry and Luke Willson fill sandbags to help with flooding at Our Lady of Guadalupe church in Flagstaff, Ariz., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca)
A pedestrian crosses a flooded road in Flagstaff, Ariz., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca)
A man uses a bottle to collect and dump rainwater from inside his car after getting stuck on a flooded street in Tucson, Ariz., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (Mason Kumet/Arizona Luminaria via AP)
Members of the Tucson Fire Department's Technical Rescue Team rescue a woman from her car after it became stuck in a flooded wash in Tucson, Ariz., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (Mason Kumet/Arizona Luminaria via AP)
