MLB qualifying offer to be around high of $20.5 million

The qualifying offer will rise to approximately $20.5 million for this free-agent market, The Post has learned.

An exact figure must be agreed to by MLB and the Players Association no later than 10 days after the regular season ends.

But The Post has been told that the mean of the top 125 salaries from 2023 (the formula for calculating the qualifying offer) will be very close to $20.5 million.

That would make it a record for a process that began in 2012.

The previous high was last offseason when the qualifying offer was $19.65 million.

 Fourteen players were made the qualifying offer last offseason with Joc Pederson (Giants) and Martin Perez (Rangers) accepting.

There have been 124 players the qualifying offer has been made to in its history and just 13 have accepted the one-year deal, though it has become more commonplace than in the early years of the process for a player or two to accept.

The last time no player accepted the qualifying offer was after the 2017 season.

For many teams making the qualifying offer is a no-brainer because they could be relatively certain the player will not accept and they will gain a compensation draft pick either after the first round or after competitive balance round B, depending on several factors, including the size of the contract and the revenue and luxury-tax status of the organization that is losing the free agent.

So, for example, you can expect qualifying offers for Shohei Ohtani (Angels), Blake Snell (Padres), Cody Bellinger (Cubs) and Aaron Nola (Phillies).

The Twins with Sonny Gray and the Blue Jays with Matt Chapman are probable.

Will the Padres do it with a reliever, Josh Hader? Probably?

Do the Marlins qualify Jorge Soler if he opts out? The Phillies Rhys Hoskins? The Mariners Teoscar Hernandez.

Free agents who changed teams during the season such as Jordan Montgomery and Lucas Giolito cannot be made the qualifying offer.

A player who previously has been made the qualifying offer, such as Eduardo Rodriguez, Hyun-jin Ryu and Marcus Stroman, cannot have it a second time.

Teams have until five days after the World Series concludes to make the qualifying offer.

A player has from a week after that to accept or reject the qualifying offer, providing a period for the player to solicit interest from outside teams and gauge whether there is enough interest to forgo the guaranteed one-year deal for the next season.