The Rundown: Implications of QO Decisions, Cubs Add Prospects to 40-Man, Morel Dilemma -

"Tuesday brought us the most activity we've seen so far this offseason, even if most of it was merely procedural in nature. Beyond the immediate implications of the qualifying offer decisions and 40-man additions to protect prospects from the Rule 5 Draft, however, are ripples across the market as players officially became (un)available and had their values altered. While the top QO players were never in question, several others were in limbo to some extent."

"The most important of those for our specific purposes was Shōta Imanaga, who many believed would decline the QO and head elsewhere. Jon Heyman even reported that Imanaga was expected to decline, though that always felt to me like more of a ploy by his reps to spur offers from other teams. I always felt his acceptance of the one-year, $22.025 million offer was a foregone conclusion given his performance and how teams would view the associated penalties with signing a QO player."

"Quick note on that since I see confusion about it: A team that loses a QO does not receive compensation directly from the team that signs them. The penalties and compensation are fixed based on a team's revenue-sharing and CBT status. As a team that does not receive rev-share money and didn't go over the CBT threshold, the Cubs will receive a pick after Competitive Balance Round B. That should be around pick 75, give or take a few."

Qualifying offer decisions and 40-man roster protections created significant offseason activity and altered player availability and market values. Shōta Imanaga accepted the one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer, securing a rotation spot and avoiding free agency. A team losing a QO does not receive direct payment from the signing team; compensation is determined by revenue-sharing and competitive-balance-tax status. The Cubs, not receiving rev-share and under the CBT threshold, will receive a pick after Competitive Balance Round B, roughly pick 75. Trent Grisham, Gleyber Torres, and Brandon Woodruff also accepted QOs; multiple notable players declined and became free agents.

Read at Cubsinsider