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Ubaldo Jimenez, being congratulated by pitching coach Mickey Callaway and first base coach Mike Sarbaugh after pitching the Indians into the AL wild card game, is officially a free agent.

(Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez’s plunge into free agency has begun.

Jimenez officially became a free agent after the Indians exercised his $8 million club option and he declined it on Thursday night. When Jimenez voided the 2014 option, it saved the Indians a $1 million buyout.

Now the question is will the Indians make him a $14 million qualifying offer by Monday’s deadline? If they do, Jimenez will have six days to accept or reject it.

If he rejects it, and signs with another team, the Indians will receive a 2014 draft pick at the end of the first round. If he accepts, he will have agreed to a one-year deal to pitch for the Tribe at $14 million in 2014.

The $14 million qualifying offer was determined by taking the average salary of the top 125 highest-paid players in the big leagues.

Jimenez had a bounce-back season this year. A disappointment since the Indians acquired him from Colorado on July 31, 2011, Jimenez went 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA in 32 starts. He was especially effective after the All-Star break, going 6-5 with a 1.82 ERA in 12 starts.

He started and won the final regular-season game against the Twins, which put the Indians in the postseason as the AL’s first wild-card team. In September, when the Indians needed to win almost every game they played, Jimenez went 4-0 with a 1.09 ERA in six starts.

The trade of Jimenez from the Rockies to the Indians gave him the right to decline his 2014 option.

Jimenez is the seventh Indian to become a free agent following Wednesday's end to the World Series. Matt Albers, Joe Smith, Scott Kazmir, Kelly Shoppach and Rich Hill are the others. The Indians have also declined the 2014 option of outfielder Jason Kubel, making him a free agent.

