When does 2024 MLB free agency start? Dates for signings, trades, options

Major League Baseball

Published Oct. 9, 2024 2:22 p.m. ET

With the road to the World Series well under way, MLB free agency will be right around the corner. Check out everything you need to know about Hot Stove season, including key dates around the qualifying offers, options and when teams can officially sign free agents.

What are the key dates for MLB Free Agency in 2024?

Day after the World Series ends: Trade market opens
Within five days of the World Series ending: Window for options to be exercised and also for clubs to make qualifying offers to players
Five days after the World Series ends at 5 p.m. ET: Free agency begins
Mid-November: Deadline for players to accept or decline a qualifying offer
Mid-January: Salary arbitration deadline

When does 2024 MLB Free Agency start?

MLB free agency typically begins the day after the conclusion of the World Series. However, players cannot sign with a new team until 5 p.m. ET five days after the end of the World Series.

In 2023, free agency began on November 6. The exact date varies slightly each year based on the end of the postseason. This year, the latest final date for the World Series would be November 2nd.

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When can teams make trades?

Trades are not allowed from the MLB Trade Deadline until the end of the World Series. Trades can be made again the day after the World Series ends.

What types of options are available?

Options are extensions added to a player contract that can be exercised by a player or a club to stay with their current team. A “club option” means the team gets to make the call if they want to extend the player’s contract for the next season. A “player option” puts the power in the hands of the player. A less common “mutual option” would only be exercised if both team and player agree.

Options must be exercised within five days of the end of the World Series.

What are qualifying offers?

A qualifying offer is a one-year contract offer that teams can use to extend their pending free agents, typically at a value determined by the average salary of the league’s top 125 players. For the 2023 offseason, for example, the qualifying offer was set at $20.325 million.

Teams can extend this offer to players who are about to enter free agency only if they have spent the entire previous season with them and if the player has never received a qualifying offer before. The player then has a short window to accept or reject the offer. If accepted, they return to the club for a year. If not, they enter free agency and if signed, the original team will receive draft compensation.

What is salary arbitration?

Salary arbitration is a process used to resolve salary disputes between teams and players who are not yet eligible for free agency but have enough service time to negotiate higher pay. It occurs when a player and their team cannot agree on a salary for the upcoming season, and it is primarily used for players with between three and six years of Major League service time (with some exceptions for “Super Two” players who qualify at just over two years).

Here’s how it works:

Eligibility: Players with three to six years of MLB service time, or “Super Two” players

Negotiation: Teams and players try to negotiate a contract for the upcoming season. If they cannot agree by a mid-January deadline, the player and team exchange salary figures, indicating how much the player wants and how much the team is willing to pay.

Arbitration Hearing: If no settlement is reached, the case goes to a hearing, where an independent panel reviews the player’s past performance, their contributions to the team, and comparable player salaries. The player and team each present their case.

Decision: The arbitration panel decides on one of the two proposed salary figures (either the player’s or the team’s), with no middle ground. The ruling is binding, meaning the player will earn the chosen salary for the next season.