If I have a player coming into his final year with a team option, and I decline the option, will I get a compensation pick if he is in the top 50 at his position or is that considered declining to give the player a 'qualifying offer'?

You can not get a comp pick if you decline a mutual or team option.

You can if the player opts out of a player or mutual option.

Thanks tecwrg.That makes this an easy decision.

Top 50? Is that how they determine Type A or Type B? I thought it was a set number based on the player's overall rating.

I thought it was a percentage of eligible players in each position group.  Top x% would be type A, next y% would be type B.

I could have swore top 25 players at each position (pitchers are broken down into SP and RP) are type A. Then 26-50 at said position are type B. Not sure how the sim determines. Probably the same at MVP and ROY nominations.

It's for sure not based off of the ratings. In my league I've managed to steal some perennial all-stars for a type B pick because they were under utilized on their previous team.

It's based off of overall rating.

I think it has to be a percentage. There's no way there are 25 Type A relievers and another 25 Type A starters each season. Combine that with the other 3 position categories, and now you have 125 Type A free agents every single year, plus another 125 Type B free agents. That's 250 total. If even 40% got signed before the draft prospects came out the following year, you're looking at 100 compensation picks sandwiched between the end of round 1 and the beginning of round 2. There's no way that's accurate.

Checked the knowledge base:

"During each offseason (after the world rolls over), players are ranked within their position group. These groups include C, 1B/OF/DH, 2B/3B/SS, SP and RP. Any free-agent in the top 20% of their position is considered a Type A free-agent and any free-agent in the top 40% is considered a Type B free-agent."