Welcome to the Offseason

If you stayed up and watched Game 7 of the World Series last night you’re probably reeling a little bit today. A fantastic series was concluded by perhaps the greatest game any of us have ever seen. If you weren’t one of the 40 million or so Americans who watched the game, well, I wish I could tell you about it, but you just had to be there. Congratulations to the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs, which is a sentence that until know has only ever been typed in fiction or in jest.

Now that the World Series has concluded, the MLB Offseason, the Hot Stove Season, can finally begin. Most importantly for the Rockies, the managerial search can now kick into high gear, now that there is no World Series News Embargo.

FOX Sports: MLB calendar key dates Major League Baseball

Here are the dates you really need to know about (with help from Ryan Divish):

Day after World Series: Eligible players become free agents

Four days after World Series: Deadline to request waivers on draft-excluded players until next spring

Five days after World Series: Deadline to reinstates players from 60-day disabled list. Deadline to outright potential Minor League free agents without Major League contract. Deadline for teams to make qualifying offers to their eligible former players who became free agents.

12 days after World Series: Deadline for free agents to accept qualifying offers

Dec. 2: Last day for teams to offer 2017 contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters

Dec. 5-8: Winter Meetings, Washington, D.C.

The Rockies don’t have anyone to whom they will extend a qualifying offer (not with a $16.7 million price tag--sorry Boone Logan), but contract options must be accepted or declined by this time as well, which will further impact the free agent market. Essentially what this means is that all 40-man rosters have to be finalized by November 7. This is especially significant because of the implications of the Rule 5 Draft, which will take place on December 8 during the Winter Meetings.

Rockies Caravan to take place in January | Rockies.com

In offseason dates more specific to the Rockies, the team will once again be heading out on the road once again to visit the far flung locales of Rockies country. The caravan typically features general manager, select players, coaches, and, the top draw, Dinger. If they are coming near you, it would put you in line to meet the as-yet-unnamed Rockies manager before most of the rest of the world. In previous years they went to Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, Albuquerque, Boise, and Salt Lake City. Keep an eye out for schedule updates.