Major League Baseball free agency officially opened up Monday night at 5:00 p.m. ET. In addition to free agency officially opening at 5:00 p.m., teams also had until 5:00 p.m. to issue qualifying offers to any pending free agents. 

Among the eight players who received the qualifying offer are four potential Boston Red Sox targets. Here's what you need to know. 

When teams issue qualifying offers to players, they essentially offer one-year deals worth a set amount; in 2026, the salary is $23.15 million. After receiving the QO, players have until Nov. 17 to either accept or decline the deal. If a player declines the offer and signs with another team, their former team will receive draft-pick compensation, while the team signing the player will be docked picks based on how much they spent the previous season, with teams in the luxury tax paying a steeper price. 

Players are eligible to receive the qualifying offer if they have never received it before in their career and were not a midseason acquisition. After receiving the QO from the Minnesota Twins in 2023, Red Sox starter Sonny Gray was ineligible to receive a second one after declining his mutual option for 2027 on Friday. 

In total, eight players received the qualifying offer: New York Yankees closer David Bednar, San Diego Padres reliever Adrian Morejon, Baltimore Orioles starter Trevor Rogers, and Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers. However, the remaining four players who received the QO could be of interest to the Red Sox. 

Arguably the best bat available in free agency, the soon-to-be former Seattle Mariners outfielder is expected to decline the qualifying offer and cash in on an All-Star season. In 154 games for Seattle in 2026, the 31-year-old left fielder hit .281/.381/.484/.865 with 34 doubles, 26 home runs and 76 RBI en route to his second consecutive All-Star selection and third of his career. 

After five seasons with the Chicago Cubs, the 32-year-old outfielder is expected to join his second major league team since coming over from Japan's NPB. In 143 games in 2026, Suzuki hit .270/.368/.473/.841 with 26 home runs, 31 doubles, driving in 86 runs. In five seasons with Chicago, Suzuki has become one of baseball's more consistent bats, posting a weighted runs created plus (wRC+) of 120 or higher in each of the last four seasons. Overall, the 32-year-old hit .269/.351/.472/.823 with 142 doubles, 113 home runs, and 382 RBI in 675 games with the Cubs.

A notorious Red Sox killer, Lowe is set to hit the free agent market for the first time in his career after one season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 150 games for Pittsburgh in 2026, the 32-year-old second baseman hit .260/.331/.493/.824 with 29 doubles, 35 home runs, driving in 96 runs en route to the second All-Star appearance of his career. His 4.9 fWAR ranked third among all second basemen.

Of the four names mentioned, the 2026 NLCS MVP is the most likely to land in Boston. Since making his major league debut in 2018, Bauers bounced from team to team, spending time with the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians, Cincinnati Reds, Yankees, and Mariners organizations, with little success. After another rough season in 2024 with the Milwaukee Brewers, Bauers was ready to call it a career, until his wife found out she was pregnant and his family needed health insurance. 

Then, at 29, Bauers began to turn his career around in 2025, posting what was, at the time, a career year with a .235/.353/.399/.752 in 85 games. He was able to build off that strong season in 2026, hitting .266/.389/.484/.874 with a team-leading 26 home runs, 22 doubles, and also driving in 86 runs in 144 games.

After the best regular season of his career, the 30-year-old left-hander became a legend in Milwaukee as the Brewers punched their ticket to the second World Series in franchise history, hitting .286/.412/.571/.983 in the sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers en route to being named NLCS MVP. 

And then the Brewers won the World Series by beating the Rays.

After finishing the 2026 season in the second luxury tax bracket, signing any qualified free agent would cost the Red Sox a second- and fifth-round pick in the 2027 MLB Draft and $1 million in international signing bonus pool space. After surrendering draft-pick compensation in 2026 to sign All-Star starter Ranger Suarez, it's unclear how willing the Red Sox will be to lose a premium draft pick in consecutive seasons.