The Major League offseason officially begins the day after the World Series ends. It could be as early as Wednesday, October 30 if the Dodgers complete the sweep of the Yankees. In the unlikely event that the Yankees extend the series to seven games through Saturday, the offseason would begin no later than Sunday, November 3.

Free agency begins at 9:00 a.m. EST, the day after the World Series. Eligible players, including those with six or more years of service, are now free agents. However, known as the “quiet period”, they can only sign with their current ball clubs. After five days, free agents can then begin negotiations and sign with any team.

Diamondbacks players who will be free agents include Christian Walker, Josh Bell, Paul Sewald and Kevin Newman.

The commercial market is officially open one day after the conclusion of the World Series.

There are three types of options: the player option, the club option and the mutual option. No matter who makes the decisions, they must occur before the end of Day 5 after the conclusion of the World Series.

There is only one D-backs player with a player option, Jordan Montgomery. The Diamondbacks hold club options on Merrill Kelly and Eugenio Suarez. Mutual options exist on Joc Pederson, Randal Grichuk and Scott McGough. You can read a detailed breakdown of the D-backs option decisions at the link below.

Related Content: Arizona Diamondbacks Free Agents and Option Decisions

Eligible offer: Teams must decide whether to make a qualifying offer to one of their free agents no later than five days after the end of the World Series. The only one among the D-backs’ free agents expected to receive a QO is Christian Walker.

If Walker accepts this offer, he will stay with the Diamondbacks for one more year, at a salary of approximately $21 million. If he rejects the offer, he immediately becomes a free agent and the Diamondbacks will receive interim compensation. You can learn more about Walker’s free agency and how qualifying offers work at the link below.

Related content: Will Christian Walker stay with the Diamondbacks?

The end of the silent period is also the deadline for players with an opt-out clause in their contract to exercise this option. There are no D-backs with opt-out clauses this season.

Teams must also reinstate all players on the 60-day injured list before the end of the silent period. For the Diamondbacks, that includes Drey Jameson, Kyle Nelson and Bryce Jarvis.

November 5-7:

General Manager meetings will be held at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country in Texas.

November 19:

Deadline by which a player can accept or decline a qualifying offer. This is also the deadline to add a player to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.

November 22: tender deadline

This is the deadline for teams to offer a contract to unsigned players, whether they are pre-arbitration or arbitration eligible. A “non-tendered” player becomes a free agent. You’ll most likely see this happen in the case of players who are expected to get a significant raise via arbitration, even though they may be coming off a down year.

The Winter Meetings are the flagship event of the offseason for the MLB. In addition to meetings between teams, players and free agents, there are numerous media events, Hall of Fame announcements and trade shows.

The trading schedule includes the MLB Draft Lottery December 10 and Draft Rule 5 on December 11.

December 15: This date marks the end of the international signing period from the previous season.

January 10: The teams and players eligible for arbitration who have not yet reached an agreement on the exchange arbitrage figures. A hearing is then scheduled, usually in February. Teams and players can reach an agreement until the hearing begins.

January 15: The new international signing period begins.

February 21: Spring training games begin

Cactus League games for the Diamondbacks will begin on February 21 and continue through March 23. Official reporting dates have not yet been announced, but camp typically opens for all players before February 14.