Yovani Gallardo has until Friday to decide whether he wants to accept or decline the Texas Rangers' qualifying offer for the 2016 season at one year and $15.8 million. That is a really nice one-year payday, but in professional sports, guys aren't too keen on taking one-year deals when there are longer-term deals to be had.
That seems to be the case for Gallardo, a Fort Worth Trimble Tech graduate who has said repeatedly he loves pitching for the team he grew up cheering for. Gallardo was acquired via trade in the spring and had a career year in 2015 for the Rangers after having spent his entire career in the more pitcher-friendly National League.
No player has ever accepted a qualifying offer in the three years it's been in existence, and there's been some talk Gallardo could be the first with several big-name pitchers on the market this winter and next year's crop looking less impressive. The thinking is he could pitch in Texas one more year for nearly $16 million, build on a great year and get an even bigger deal in 2017.
ESPN's Keith Law has come out and projected Gallardo getting a four-year deal worth $56 million, maybe more, in free agency this winter. That's a pretty healthy contract for Gallardo and it's hard to imagine he'd pass something like that up.
The chances of someone accepting a qualifying offer are obviously low since it's never happened, but Gallardo seemed to be a candidate for it. If Law's projection is correct, however, don't count on it. We'll know by Friday.
