The MLB offseason has officially arrived after the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series with a Game 5 victory on Wednesday. The Minnesota Twins have already made major moves, outrighting left-hander Anthony Banda, first baseman Aaron Sabato and infielder Tristan Gray off the 40-man roster.
With the offseason now in full swing, there are several important dates to keep in mind before the inevitable lockout when the CBA expires at 10:59 p.m. CDT on Dec. 1.
Offseason dates for Twins fans to keep in mind ahead of inevitable lockout
Nov. 2: Option and qualifying offer decisions, free agents free to sign anywhere
At 4:00 p.m. CDT on Nov. 2, free agents will be free to sign with any team. Before then, free agents can only sign with the team they played for in 2026.
Nov. 2 is also the deadline for teams and players to decide whether to exercise options. Designated hitter Josh Bell had a $10 million mutual option for 2027 with a $1.25 million buyout. Bell's option has already been declined by the Twins, according to the MLB Players Association.
Joe Ryan had a $13 million mutual option with a $100K buyout. The Twins declined the option, according to Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com, but they still have his rights through arbitration for next season.
The Twins will also have to decide whether to extend catcher Ryan Jeffers a qualifying offer, which will be $23.15 million, by Nov. 2. Jeffers is the only Twins free agent eligible to receive a QO.
If Jeffers accepts the QO, he will be under contract with Minnesota at $23.15 million for 2027. If he declines it, Jeffers will hit free agency, and the team that signs him will lose draft pick compensation (unless Minnesota re-signs him). If he declines a QO and signs elsewhere, the Twins will receive draft pick compensation.
Nov. 9: GM meetings
Executives from all 30 teams will meet from Nov. 9-12 in Las Vegas. Fans can expect plenty of offseason moves to begin during the meetings, especially with the looming lockout. Last time there was a lockout (2021-22), many free agents signed major contracts right before it began.
Nov. 17: Rule 5 protection deadline, qualifying offer acceptance deadline
The Twins must decide which players to protect from the Rule 5 Draft before Nov. 17. Players are Rule 5-eligible if they signed at 18 or younger and have played five professional seasons, or if they signed at 19 or older and have played four professional seasons. To protect a Rule 5-eligible player, Minnesota must add them to its 40-man roster. The Rule 5 Draft is currently scheduled for Dec. 9, but that date will likely change due to the lockout.
Nov. 17 will also be the deadline for players to accept or decline a QO. For the Twins, this only matters if Minnesota extends the QO to Jeffers.
Nov. 20: Tender deadline
The Twins must decide whether to tender arbitration-eligible players' contracts by Nov. 20.
Here are the Twins' players eligible for arbitration:
- RHP Joe Ryan, if his mutual option is not exercised
- RHP Bailey Ober
- RHP Dean Kremer
- OF Trevor Larnach
- INF Royce Lewis
- RHP Taj Bradley
- UTL Kody Clemens
- RHP Cole Sands
The players most in danger of being non-tendered are Larnach and Ober. Lewis is also a non-tender candidate. Ultimately, all three players will likely be tendered a contract, and the Twins will try to trade them if they want to move on.
Dec. 1: CBA expires
As stated earlier in the article, the CBA will officially expire at 10:59 p.m. CDT on Dec. 1. Nearly everyone around the league expects a lockout to happen. The owners want a strict salary cap, and the players obviously do not. Some believe the lockout could extend into the 2027 regular season, canceling games.
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