Which Cubs Free Agents Will Receive a Qualifying Offer?

The Chicago Cubs have a tough decision to make in the coming days. 

The Cubs have to extend qualifying offers to eligible players by Monday, November 2 at 5:00 p.m. ET. That means they have just a few days to decide whether to send the qualifying offer to potential players. 

To be eligible for a qualifying offer, a player must have played the entire season with that team and never received one before. That obviously knocks out several Cubs free agents from actually receiving a qualifying offer. 

Shota Imanaga received one last year, so he can’t be given one this offseason. David Peterson, Kevin Gausman, and Clay Holmes were all mid-season trade acquisitions, so those three players can’t receive one either. 

That really leaves Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, and Matthew Boyd as potential qualifying offer candidates. Last year, the Cubs gave both Imanaga and Kyle Tucker qualifying offers, with only the southpaw accepting it. 

This year, there’s a strong chance that the Cubs extend the qualifying offer to only Suzuki. 

The expectation is that Suzuki will receive one on Monday. Jon Heyman reported that the team would give him the qualifying offer a few weeks ago, and MLB.com recently predicted that the Japanese slugger will be one of the few to receive it. 

Suzuki is one of the bigger names in the free-agent market this offseason, so the Cubs will try to keep him away from the open market by extending the qualifying offer. But the chances he actually accepts it remain rather low.

As for Happ and Boyd, it would be quite a surprise if either received the qualifying offer. Both players aren’t exactly coming off dominant seasons. 

Happ posted some of the worst hitting numbers of his career in 2026. He slashed .218/.326/.412 with 24 home runs, 28 doubles, three triples, 68 RBI, and four stolen bases across 156 games. His 2.9 WAR was his lowest in a season since 2021, and the switch-hitting outfielder batted .209 over his last 57 contests. 

Boyd was a bit inconsistent on the mound this past season after an All-Star campaign the year prior. The veteran southpaw posted a 3.91 ERA, 1.208 WHIP, and 96 strikeouts across 126 ⅔ innings pitched, and his 1.0 WAR was much worse than his 2025 WAR (2.6). 

The qualifying offer for next season is set at $23.15 million. That is a slight increase from last year ($22.025 million)