NEW YORK -- Houston outfielder Colby Rasmus, Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brett Anderson became the first three players to accept qualifying offers rather than remain free agents.
The trio, who accepted $15.8 million, one-year contracts Friday, were among 20 players given the offers last week. Another in the group, Toronto pitcher Marco Estrada, agreed to a $26 million, two-year contract that was announced just before the 5 p.m. EST deadline to accept qualifying offers.
None of the 34 qualifying offers was accepted in the first three years of baseball's current collective bargaining agreement.