Thirteen players were tendered qualifying offers before Thursday’s deadline, with the Detroit Tigers surprisingly offering one to one of their free agents for the first time in more than a decade.
The Tigers returned to the playoffs this season, but ultimately fell short to the Seattle Mariners. Detroit was the best team in baseball early on in the season, but nearly fell apart before securing a playoff spot. One of the Tigers’ most impactful decisions last season which helped spur the team forward was signing former New York Yankees All-Star second baseman Gleyber Torres.
Torres signed a one-year, $15 million contract with Detroit last offseason and excelled with the team. The 28-year-old slugger slashed .256/.358/.387 with 16 home runs and 74 RBIs for the Tigers and was named an All-Star for the third time in his career, but is set to be a free agent again this offseason.
The Tigers will try to retain Torres this offseason, with the team offering the All-Star second baseman the one-year, $22 million qualifying offer, according to MLB.com’s Jason Beck.
“They extended it to second baseman Gleyber Torres, who will now weigh the appeal of a second one-year deal with Detroit against the potential of a multi-year deal on the open market,” Beck wrote Thursday. “Torres has until Nov. 18 to accept or decline the offer, a one-year, $22.025M contract. If he declines it, the Tigers could still re-sign him. If he signs elsewhere, the Tigers would receive a compensation pick in next summer’s MLB Draft – either late in the first round if he signs for over $50 million, or at the end of the second round if he signs for less.
“It marks the Tigers’ first qualifying offer since Max Scherzer and Victor Martinez in 2014. Torres’ hot first half not only earned him his first All-Star selection since 2019 and the first All-Star start of his career, it made him the sparkplug of a team that entered the All-Star break with MLB’s best record. He faded down the stretch as he dealt with a hernia injury that required surgery following the season, but he still finished with impressive numbers.”
Torres was surely impressive for the Tigers this season, and is likely to receive contracts offers worth nearly the same as the qualifying offer this offseason. The 28-year-old is projected to receive a three-year, $57 million contract. Though that potential contract has less annual value than the qualifying offer, it is a secure long-term deal.
It will be interesting to see if Torres plans to test out free agency, or guarantee a payday by accepting the Tigers’ qualifying offer.
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