HOUSTON — EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from Gerrit Cole's postgame interview following Game 7 of the 2019 World Series.
The Houston Astros tendered a qualifying offer to Gerrit Cole on Monday.
The announcement was made by Astros president of baseball operations and general manager Jeff Luhnow.
Cole has already filed for free agency, along with seven other Astros players.
Also announced Monday, the Astros added LHP Kent Emanuel to the 40-man roster, reinstated RHP Lance McCullers from the 60-day IL and declined their 2020 option on Chris Devenski.
Devenski will remain with the team as an arbitration-eligible player.
Cole, C Robinson Chirinos, RHP Will Harris, C Martín Maldonado, RHP Collin McHugh, LHP Wade Miley, RHP Héctor Rondón and RHP Joe Smith have all filed for free agency and are free to sign with other major league teams.
McCullers, 26, missed the entire 2019 season as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery that was performed on Nov. 6, 2018. He's expected to be ready to rejoin the Astros for the 2020 season.
The Astros 40-man roster stands at 34 players.
What is a qualifying offer?
According to MLB, a qualifying offer is made by a team that wishes to receive compensatory draft picks if the player leaves in free agency.
The qualifying offer is a one-year deal worth the average of MLB's 125 highest-paid players.
Players have 10 days to accept or decline the offer and is able to negotiate with other teams during the time in order to gauge his market value.
If the player accepts the offer, he is signed for the following year at the rate. If he rejects the offer, he is free to further explore free agency.
A team that signs the player who declined a qualifying offer is subject to the loss of one or more draft picks. The team's highest first-round pick is exempt from the process, but other first-round picks are eligible.
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