Historic qualifying offer results reinforce Mariners’ right call on Jorge Polanco

Seattle’s front office bet that handing Polanco a QO was too risky. In a winter where fringe stars grabbed the money and ran, that bet aged well fast.

American League Championship Series - Toronto Blue Jay v Seattle Mariners - Game Three | Steph Chambers/GettyImagesOn qualifying offer day, a whole lot of front offices stared at that $22.025 million number and blinked. For years, the QO has basically been treated as a polite “thanks, but no thanks” — a way for teams to grab draft compensation while their free agents chased multi-year paydays elsewhere.

This winter flipped that script. A record four players took the one-year guarantee, instantly eating up major chunks of their clubs’ payroll…