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I didn't read any of those links, but I'll give you a short answer. The Q.O. replaced the offering of arbitration to a free agent. If a player is offered a Q.O. and accepts it, he is contractually bound to his team for one year at the average pay rate of the top 50 (or maybe it's 100?) salaried players, which this year is $14.1M. The player can still negotiate a multi-year contract extension with this team (only), or just be bound for the one. If the player rejects the Q.O., then he can negotiate with any team (including his own), but he will only get what's negotiated, not a standard minimum. If the player leaves his team for another, then his new team will lose a draft pick(s) if picks are attached to this particular player. If a player does not receive a Q.O., then the team will not receive any draft compensation if the player signs elsewhere - the Q.O. does not have the same restrictions as the old way of offering arbitration. First a team must consider if they want to risk a player accepting what is basically a one year deal at $14.1M. If they don't, then they don't offer because they feel they can keep the player or another at a cheaper rate, or just find a different kind of player altogether. The better players will get the offer, obviously, because they're very likely to receive a lot of interest and get paid beyond the Q.O. minimum; and the team wants draft replacement players as compensation if the player moves on. A guy like Kyle Lohse was a borderline player. The Cardinals didn't want to pay him $13.3M, but thought he'd garner enough interest that he'd get signed and they'd receive draft picks. However, teams value the draft more now and teams were reluctant to burn picks on a very good #3 starter (at best an okay #2), on top of paying him $44-50M over 4 years. That's why he hung out so long, until the desperate-for-pitching Brewers gave up the money and the draft picks for him. (If they were smart, they'd trade him to a contender this offseason or during the summer, but that's my aside.) Keep in mind that the top 10 picks in the draft are protected, so a very bad team can sign a premiere F.A. and only lose a 2nd round pick if that player had received a Q.O. I believe this is the case with Cano. If Seattle has one of the top ten picks, they don't surrender it to the Yankees, only their second pick. No matter what system MLB and the P.A. use, the borderline and leftover players with no market (Ryan Madson a couple years ago under the old system) will always get stuck in one conundrum or another. There's no fool-proof way to protect a free agent. It's risky business, no matter how lucrative it can be.
Not quite right. Players earn the right to arbitration based on major league service time. Super-2 players complicate the picture, but basically, in years 1, 2, and 3, you are nothing and your team can pretty much pay you whatever it wants. In years 4, 5, and 6 you are eligible for arbitration. You submit a number and so does the club. If you haven't reached an agreement by then, an arbitartor will pick one of the two numbers after a hearing. Once the arbitration years have run their course, players become free agents. A team can choose to make a qualifying offer to an impending free agent, which works pretty much as outlined. There are various other ways to become a free agent also.
Arbitration eligible and free agency are two different things. I know the difference, and I'm sure the OP does as well.
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