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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Los Angeles Dodgers did not extend a qualifying offer to Walker Buehler before Monday's deadline. Jeff Passan of ESPN was the first to report the news.
The Dodgers did extend the qualifying offer — a one-year contract worth $21.05 million — to outfielder Teoscar Hernández. If Hernández rejects the offer in the next two weeks, he will become a free agent.
Thirteen players reportedly received the qualifying offer Monday:
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Since the qualifying offer was implemented in 2012, 131 players have received one, and only 13 players have accepted the offer. Hernández is almost certain to decline the offer and test the free agent market instead.
The deadline for players to accept or reject the qualifying offer is 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 19.
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After signing a one-year, $23.5 million contract with Los Angeles last winter, Hernández hit a career-best 33 home runs with 99 RBIs in 154 games. The 32-year-old outfielder has said he would like to return to the Dodgers after winning a World Series in his first year in Los Angeles but is expected to be highly sought after in free agency and command a multi-year contract.
If a team gives a qualifying offer to a player who then signs elsewhere, the club that lost the player is eligible for draft pick compensation in the 2025 MLB Draft. Since the Dodgers exceeded the competitive balance tax threshold in 2024, their compensation pick should Hernández sign elsewhere will be awarded after the fourth round has been completed.
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Buehler, 30, heads directly to free agency after going 1-6 with a 5.38 earned-run average in a regular season that was limited to 16 starts due to injuries and inefficiency. The right-hander had not pitched since 2022 as he recovered from a second Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
Although he was healthy enough to pitch coming out of spring training, the effect of the second ligament replacement procedure was dramatic. He began the season in the minor leagues refining his repertoire. After returning to Los Angeles, Buehler completed six innings only twice in his first 11 starts, displaying none of the bat-missing abilities he showed from 2017-22 when he went 46-16 with a 3.02 ERA.
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Buehler rebounded somewhat in September to complete five innings in each of his five starts. He allowed one run over five innings against the San Diego Padres on Sept. 26, and the Dodgers won 7-2 to eliminate the Padres from the National League West title chase.
That made Buehler at least a necessary (if not desirable) inclusion on the Dodgers' postseason roster. October saw him reward that decision handsomely.
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Buehler allowed runs in only one of the 15 postseason innings he pitched. His only loss came in Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres, a game in which he allowed seven hits, six runs, and one walk without striking out a batter.
But Buehler got the ball again in Game 3 of the NL Championship Series and threw four innings without allowing a run, striking out six. He started Game 3 of the World Series and threw five shutout innings at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 28, putting the Dodgers one win away from the title.
After the Dodgers could not clinch in Game 4 — a planned bullpen game — Buehler appeared in the ninth inning of Game 5 two days later, an unplanned bullpen game. Three batters and three outs later, the Dodgers were World Series champions.
The qualifying offer is a one-year contract worth the mean salary of MLB's 125 highest-paid players. Impending free agents are eligible to receive one prior to the onset of free agency if they have never received a qualifying offer previously in their career, and they spent the entire season on their current team's roster.
Buehler and Hernández were eligible to receive a qualifying offer because they spent their entire 2024 seasons in Los Angeles. Teammate Jack Flaherty was not, because he was traded to the Dodgers at midseason after beginning the year with the Detroit Tigers.
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