The biggest offseason dates KC Royals fans should know

The 5-day period following the end of the World Series

Exclusive signing period. Although the day after the Series wraps up marks the official start of free agency, the Basic Agreement — the extensive collective bargaining deal that prescribes the players' terms and conditions of employment — prohibits free agents from signing with any club other than the last one they played for until the fifth day following the Fall Classic's end.

Royal free agents are Zack Greinke, Brad Keller and Matt Duffy. Greinke may or may not retire, and Kansas City shouldn't pursue Keller or Duffy.

Qualifying offers. It's also during this five-day span that clubs can, if they so choose, extend Qualifying Offers to certain of their free agents. A QO gives a free agent the chance to return to his team for one year at a set, MLB-wide amount, which this offseason is anticipated to be more than $20 million. If a player rejects a QO, any team that signs him can lose a draft pick, and the team losing him gets an extra draft pick.

Players are eligible for QOs only if they rostered with the offering team for the whole 2023 season and they've never before received a QO. For example, potential KC free agent Zack Greinke is in the same position this winter as he was last — because he received an offer before, the Royals can't give him one.

QO recipients have 10 days to decide what to do.

Options. That five-day post-Series period is also the only time players, clubs, or both can exercise contract options, which if triggered require players to return to their teams for a contractually-prescribed term. Some contracts give only the player the right to exercise the option, others reserve that right to the team only, and still others include so-called mutual options that allow a player's return only if both sides exercise them, effectively giving player or club a veto.

Some additional important dates...

The MLB General Manages meet in Arizona — Nov. 7-9

GM's from every big league franchise, including Picollo, are scheduled to meet in Scottsdale and confer about all things baseball. Unfortunately, though, these meetings aren't what they sometimes used to be. In former days, the confabs often produced in-meeting trades, signings, player news, and rumors; now, however, not as much action takes place, and officials use the days and nights primarily to lay groundwork for future deals.

40-man roster deadline for Rule 5 Draft purposes — Nov. 14

The Royals have until late afternoon to shield players from Rule 5 Draft exposure by adding them to the club's 40-man roster. If players who signed their first contracts when they were 18 or younger, and others who signed at 19 or older, aren't included on that roster within five or four years respectively, they're subject to being snatched up by other teams in December's Rule 5 Draft (more on that momentarily).

The major leagues' annual contract non-tender deadline — Nov. 17

Big league teams have until the Friday before Thanksgiving, in other words Nov. 17, to decide whether to give contracts to players on their 40-man rosters who aren't otherwise subject to continuing deals. Non-tendered players are declared free agents and can sign with any other club.

Non-tenders are frequently used to open up 40-man roster spots for Rule 5 Draft purposes; last year, the Royals non-tendered pitchers Nate Webb and Jake Brentz just before the deadline, but soon re-signed Brentz, who spent this season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and should be ready for next season.

And some more calendar items...

Baseball's annual Winter Meetings and Rule 5 Draft — Dec. 3-6

You're mistaken if you think November's General Managers Meeting is the only big get-together of baseball's winter. The Winter Meetings, to be staged next month in Nashville, encompass the major and minor leagues and, generally speaking, produce more news and activity than the GM confab. With the the free agent and trade markets open and the non-tender deadline in the past, clubs can focus on talking and making deals.

The Winter Meetings are also the venue for the Rule 5 Draft, which this year is scheduled for the Meetings' final day. Teams with incomplete 40-man rosters can draft other clubs' unprotected players.

"Deadline" for arbitration-eligible players to sign with their clubs — Jan. 12

Too many fans believe there's a hard deadline by which players eligible for arbitration must sign with their respective teams. No such deadline exists.

Instead, arbitration-eligible players and clubs who haven't agreed on the terms of new one-year deals, or multi-season contract extensions, on or before Jan. 12 are obligated to exchange proposed arbitration-resolving salaries for the 2024 campaign. Importantly, nothing prevents them from continuing to negotiate and reach settlements before arbitration hearings begin in February.

Only one player, pitcher Brady Singer, took the Royals to hearing last winter, but as many as eight — Singer, Carlos Hernández, Kris Bubic, Edward Olivares, Taylor Clarke, Taylor Hearn, Josh Staumont, and Josh Taylor — could if they and Kansas City can't cut deals. Of those eight, Kings of Kauffman's Jacob Milham recently identified three he projects will be non-tendered.

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