Wednesday is an important date on the MLB offseason calendar. It is the non-tender deadline, or the day teams must tender their pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players a contract for 2021. They don’t have to sign their players prior to the 8 p.m. ET deadline, but they must make an offer. Player who do not receive a contract tender become free agents.
A fresh new batch of players will join the (slow-moving) free agent market Wednesday. The number of non-tenders has risen in recent years and is expected to climb again as teams get their payrolls in order amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are the total number of non-tenders the last five offseasons:
- 2015: 36
- 2016: 35
- 2017: 25
- 2018: 41
- 2019: 53
Here is our non-tender preview. Last year’s non-tenders included Blake Treinen and Taijuan Walker, among others, and several big names are on the chopping block this year. To be clear, players who are non-tendered can re-sign with their team, though they usually seek a better opportunity (and more money) elsewhere. Non-tender are typically a clean break for both sides.
CBS Sports will keep tabs on all the day’s non-tender news right here, so make sure you check back throughout the day for updates. Here is the latest non-tender news.
