Imminently Qualified

The Cubs have until 5 PM (Eastern) today (Monday November 6th) to decide whether to extend a Qualifying Offer to any of their five post-2017 Article XX-B free-agents who are eligible to receive one. (John Lackey, Alex Avila, and Rene Rivera are not eligible to receive a QO). 

An Article XX-B free-agent is designated a "Qualified Player" if the player spent the entire immediately-preceding MLB regular season on a club's MLB Active List (25-man roster) and/or on one or more of the club's inactive lists (7-day, 10-day, and/or 60-day Disabled List, Military List, Bereavement List, et al) and/or on the Active List or an inactive list (7-day or 60-day Disabled List, Military List, Temporarily Inactive List, et al) of one or more minor league affiliates of that club, and the club offers the player a guaranteed contract (known as a "Qualifying Offer") for the following season. 
NOTE: Beginning with the post-2017 off-season, a player cannot receive more than one Qualifying Offer in his career. 

CURRENT CUBS WHO HAVE RECEIVED A QUALIFYING OFFER IN THEIR CAREERS: (last updated 7-31-2017)
Jason Heyward, OF (was extended a QO by St. Louis Cardinals post-2015)
John Lackey, RHP (was extended a QO by St. Louis Cardinals post-2015)

ACQUIRED OR SIGNED BY CUBS AFTER START OF 2017 MLB REGULAR SEASON: (last updated 8-19-2017) 
Alex Avila, C (acquired from DET in trade on 7/31)
Rene Rivera, C (claimed off waivers from NYM on 8/19)

The Qualifying Offer must include a salary at least equal to the average salary of the 125 highest-paid MLB players from the previous season. The exact amount of the average salary of the 125 highes-paid MLB players from the previous season will be communicated by the MLB Labor Relations Department (LRD) simultaneously to all MLB clubs and the Major League Baseball Player's Association (MLBPA) within ten days after the conclusion of the MLB regular season. 

2018 QUALIFYING OFFER MINIMUM SALARY: $17.4M

To be valid, a Qualifying Offer must be extended by a club no later than 5 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series. The LRD then provides the MLBPA with a list of players receiving valid Qualifying Offers and the amount of each offer.

MLB clubs are not permitted to extend a Qualifying Offer to an Article XX-B MLB free-agent if the player has agreed in advance to decline the offer so that the club will obtain a compensatory draft pick once the player signs with another club.

CUBS ARTICLE XX-B QUALIFIED PLAYERS POST-2017: (last updated 11-6-2017)
TBD 

The Qualified Player has until 5 PM (Eastern) on the 10th day after receiving the offer to decide whether to accept or decline. If the Qualified Player accepts the offer, he is considered "signed" and must be immediately added back to his club's MLB Reserve List (40-man roster). If he declines the offer, the player is free to sign with any MLB club, including his former club.
NOTE: Prior to the post-2017 off-season, a player had seven days to decide whether to accept a QO. 

If a Qualified Player subsequently signs a Major League contract with another (different) MLB club prior to the MLB Rule 4 Draft (MLB First-Year Player Draft), the player's former club (the club that lost the Qualified Player) normally will receive a compensatory draft pick in the MLB Rule 4 Dtaft between the 2nd & 3rd rounds (after Competitive Balance Round "B").
EXCEPTIONS: An MLB club that receives revenue sharing funds would receive a compensatory draft pick immediately after the conclusion of the 1st round (prior to Competitive Balance Round "A") - IF - the Qualified Player signs a contract worth at least $50M (the club would receive a compensatory draft pick between the 2nd & 3rd rounds and after Competitive Balance Round "B" if the Qualified Player signs a contract worth less than $50M), and an MLB club that is a Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) payor (club's payroll exceeds the so-called "Luxury Tax") would receive a draft pick between the 4th & 5th rounds.
NOTE: If more than one club receives the same type of compensatory pick, the draft order for the comp picks is the same as it is for all other rounds in that draft (clubs select in inverse order of league standings from the previous season, and in the case of two clubs finishing with the same record the previous season, league standings from two seasons back will be used to break the tie, and if If the clubs are still tied, league standings from three seasons back, four seasons back, etc, will be used to break the tie). 

An MLB club that signs an Article XX-B player who received a Qualifying Offer from his previous club forfeits its 2nd highest selection in the next MLB Rule 4 Draft and $500,000 is subtracted from its assigned International Signing Bonus Pool (ISBP) in the next full International Signing Period (ISP) for each Artcle XX-B Qualified Player signed.
EXCEPTIONS: An MLB club that receives revenue sharing funds would surrender its 3rd highest selection in the draft but nothing is subtracted from the club's ISBP in the next full ISP, and an MLB club that is a CBT payor (club's payroll exceeds the so-called "Luxury Tax") would forfeit its 2nd & 5th selection in the draft and have $1,000,000 subtracted from its ISBP in the next ISP for each Article XX-B Qulaified Player signed.
NOTE: The Competitive Balance Tax threshold will be $195M in 2017, $199M in 2018, $206M in 2019, $209M in 2020, and $210M in 2021. 

The next highest Rule 4 Draft pick (or draft picks) will be forfeited if a club signs more than one Article XX-B player who received a Qualifying Offer from his previous club (one draft pick forfeited for each Qualified Player signed).
NOTE: A CBT payor (club's payroll exceeds the so-called "Luxury Tax") would forfeit its 3rd & 6th highest selections if the club signs a second Qualified Player, its 4th & 7th selections if the club signs a third Qualified Player, and its 8th & 9th highest selections, 10th & 11th highest selections, et al, for additional Qualified Players signed. 

Draft picks subject to forfeiture include the club's own Rule 4 Draft picks, compensatory draft picks awarded to the club after losing an Article XX-B Qualified Player, and draft picks awarded as the result of the Rule 4 SBP Forfeited Draft Pick lottery (including draft picks that were subsequently acquired in a trade). Competitive Balance draft picks (including Competitive Balance draft picks acquired in a trade) and a compensatory draft pick awarded to a club for failing to sign a pick from a previous Rule 4 Draft are - NOT - subject to forfeiture.
NOTE: Prior to the 2018 MLB Rule 4 Draft, Competitive Balance draft picks were subject to forfeiture.

A Rule 4 Draft pick forfeited as the result of a club signing an Article XX-B player who was extended a Qualifying Offer from his previous club is not transferred to any other club (it just disappears).

A Qualified Player who signs a Major League contract after 11:59 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series receives automatic "no trade" rights that extend through June 15th of the following season, even if the player re-signs with his former club. A Qualified Player who receives "no trade" rights this way can waive the right, but if he does, his club can trade the player only for player contracts and/or cash with a maximum aggregate value of $50,000.

If a Qualified Player signs a Major League contract with another (different) club after the MLB Rule 4 Draft, or if a Qualified Player signs a minor league contract with another (different) club and either remains in the minor leagues or is later added to that club's MLB 40-man roster, the player's new club does NOT forfeit a Rule 4 Draft pick, and the player's former club does NOT receive Rule 4 Draft pick compensation. However, MLB clubs are not permitted to sign a Qualified Player to a minor league contract just to avoid losing a draft pick.