With the offseason getting started, we’ve seen the Royals decline Alex Gordon’s $23 million mutual option for 2020. Of course there’s still plenty of decisions for Dayton Moore and the Royals to make this off season. Free agency has already started but listed below are important dates for the rest of the off season.

• November 11-14, General Managers Meetings in Scottsdale, Arizona

Usually nothing crazy happens during this time. But some trades have happened during this time as well as potential groundwork for future trades.

• November 14, Deadline for players to accept or decline their qualifying offer

This has no effect on the Royals as they didn’t extend a one-year, $17.8 million qualifying offer to any of their free agents.

• November 19-21, Owners Meetings in Arlington, Texas

During this time is when the purchase of the Royals franchise by John Sherman will be voted on for approval by the MLB owners. It’s expected to be fully approved with no issues.

• November 20, Deadline to add Rule 5 draft eligible players to the 40-man roster

This is perhaps the biggest offseason date for the Royals as they have many players worthy of being protected. Some notable names that are eligible are: Nick Heath, Grant Gavin, Yunior Marte, Foster Griffin and Carlos Hernandez. Below is a link to a google spreadsheet with the full list of Rule 5 eligible players. 

Rule 5 Eligibility Google spreadsheet

*Note: On the spreadsheet Gabe Speier and Erick Mejia are on the list, but they are no longer eligible as they are on the 40-man roster.

• December 2, Non-tender deadline

At this time teams must tender a contract to their arbitration eligible players. If a player is not tendered a contract they will become free agents. The Royals have four players eligible for arbitration.

Below are the projected arbitration salaries according to MLB Trade Rumors:

Jorge Soler – $11.2 million
Mike Montgomery – $2.9 million
Cheslor Cuthbert – $1.8 million
Jesse Hahn – $800K

• December 9-12, Winter Meetings in San Diego, California

The Winter Meetings are always fun! You never know what might happen during this time.

• December 12, Rule 5 draft

On the last day of the Winter Meetings, the Rule 5 draft is held. Players selected in the Rule 5 draft must remain on the drafting teams Major League roster the entire 2020 season or be passed through waivers and offered back to his original team. The Royals will have the 4th pick in the draft.

• January 10, Deadline to exchange salary figures for arbitration if an agreement hasn’t been made

On this date, each the team and player submits a salary figure for arbitration. It’s important to note that an agreement can still be made between this date and the arbitration hearing.

• February 3-21, Arbitration hearings

The Royals have a history of not letting their arbitration cases get to a hearing. In case they don’t come to an agreement with anyone of the four arbitration eligible players, their case would be heard in front of an arbitration panel. The panel then decides which salary the player gets for next year, the salary the team submitted or the salary the player submitted. 

I hope this helps set things up for the Royals off season!