Report: MLB qualifying offer increasing to $21.05M

Major League Baseball's qualifying offer for the upcoming offseason will rise to $21.05 million, sources told ESPN's Kiley McDaniel.

The figure, which is calculated by averaging the top 125 salaries in the league, increases from last year's amount of $20.325 million, McDaniel adds.

The qualifying offer is a competitive balance system that was put in place as part of the 2012-16 collective bargaining agreement. It allows clubs to receive compensatory draft picks for losing players to free agency.

Clubs can make a one-year qualifying offer to impending free agents who have never received one before, as well as to players who spent the entire season on that team's roster.

Seven players, including Shohei Ohtani and Josh Hader, were made qualifying offers last season. None of them accepted.