Contract offers, free agency, award season. MLB never sleeps — lockout or no lockout

Major League Baseball’s off-season could look a lot different this year as a contentious labour dispute has the potential to drastically alter the annual calendar of events.

With the collective agreement set to expire Dec. 1, there will be about a month of normal activity before the hot stove is expected to be put on hold until a new deal is reached. There likely won’t be too many big signings before the next deal is finalized, but there should be some trades and decisions must be made on qualifying offers, club options, non-tenders and a slew of other housekeeping items.

With the threat of a lockout just around the corner, here’s a look at the important off-season dates. Anything before the start of December won’t change. The dates after that? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Sunday

Deadline for qualifying offers and club options

Teams have until five days after the World Series to extend qualifying offers to their free agents. Next year’s offer is valued at $18.4 million (U.S.), down $500,000 from 2021. Players can either accept or decline and continue with free agency. Marcus Semien and Robbie Ray are locks to receive offers from the Blue Jays, and it’s equally guaranteed that both will decline. Lefty Steven Matz is a fringe candidate to receive an offer, but he’d likely accept and after earning $5 million this season, making almost four times that amount next year seems steep. The Jays don’t have any club options to worry about, but they’ll be paying attention to what happens elsewhere. Seattle third baseman Kyle Seager is among those expected to be cut loose, which will add depth to free agency.

Gold Glove winners

The Jays have three finalists. Right-hander José Berríos is up against Chicago’s Dallas Keuchel and Zack Greinke. Semien is matched up against Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield and the Angels’ David Fletcher at second base. Left-fielder Lourdes Gurriel’s competition is Tampa’s Randy Arozarena and Kansas City’s Andrew Benintendi.

Monday

Free agency opens

Starting at midnight, the five-day exclusive negotiating window closes and free agents are allowed to sign with any team of their choosing. The Jays’ list includes: Semien, Ray, Matz, Kirby Yates, David Phelps, Joakim Soria, Corey Dickerson and Jarrod Dyson. For leagues such as the NBA and NHL, day one is usually the start of a free-agent frenzy. In baseball, rarely are there any deals of note that early, and the chances of it happening this year are even lower because of the CBA.

GM meetings in Carlsbad, Calif. (to Nov. 11)

All 30 GMs will be at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa to discuss a wide variety of issues. This is the smaller of the two off-season meetings and it should not be confused with the more prominent event scheduled for December. Historically, not a lot happens at the GM meetings, but that has been slowly changing over the last decade. In 2012, this is where Alex Anthopoulos worked out the framework for his blockbuster trade with the Marlins. More recently, it’s where Ross Atkins began to finalize a three-year deal for Kendrys Morales.

Nov. 11

Silver Slugger winners

The Jays had one of the most potent lineups in baseball, so it should hardly come as a surprise that they have five finalists for top offensive performer by position. First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Semien will walk away with some hardware, while outfielder Teoscar Hernández will be looking to win his second award in as many years. Bo Bichette and Gurriel are long shots despite strong seasons.

Nov. 15

Rookie of the year