TORONTO -- The inevitable became a reality on Monday afternoon as Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista decided to take their chances with free agency instead of accepting Toronto's qualifying offers.
Encarnacion and Bautista had until 5 p.m. ET to accept a $17.2 million qualifying offer for next season. They declined and will continue to talk with other teams. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, will receive a compensatory pick in the 2017 Draft if either player signs elsewhere.
The decisions to pass on the offers had been expected all along. Encarnacion and Bautista are exploring multiyear deals through free agency with figures that should well surpass the one-year qualifying offer.