The Detroit Tigers have extended the one-year qualifying offer to free-agent second baseman Gleyber Torres, opening the door for a potential reunion in the 2026 season.
It’s worth $22.025 million.
The Tigers extended the offer before the Thursday, Nov. 6, deadline for qualifying-offer decisions. Torres must decide by Nov. 18 whether to accept or decline.
Only 14 of 144 players have accepted a qualifying offer since the system was implemented in 2012, with outfielder Joc Pederson as the most recent position player to do so in 2022, returning to the San Francisco Giants for $19.65 million.Expert MLB daily picks: Unique MLB betting insights only at USA TODAY
The Tigers signed Torres to a one-year, $15 million contract in December 2024.
In 2025, Torres hit .256 with 16 home runs, 85 walks and 101 strikeouts across 145 games, registering a .745 OPS. The 28-year-old made the All-Star Game for the third time in his eight-year MLB career, serving as the starting second baseman (and the leadoff hitter) for the American League team.
Aside from Torres, here are the 12 other players who were extended the qualifying offer in the 2025-26 offseason:
- Shortstop Bo Bichette (Toronto Blue Jays)
- Right-hander Dylan Cease (San Diego Padres)
- Right-handed reliever Edwin Díaz (New York Mets)
- Right-hander Zac Gallen (Arizona Diamondbacks)
- Center fielder Trent Grisham (New York Yankees)
- Left-hander Shota Imanaga (Chicago Cubs)
- Right-hander Michael King (San Diego Padres)
- Designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia Phillies)
- Left-hander Ranger Suárez (Phillies)
- Right fielder Kyle Tucker (Cubs)
- Left-hander Framber Valdez (Houston Astros)
- Right-hander Brandon Woodruff (Milwaukee Brewers)
Players can only receive a qualifying offer once in their careers, regardless of the team. That means if Torres accepts the offer this offseason, the Tigers wouldn’t be able to extended it again next offseason.WHEN HE SIGNED: Gleyber Torres bets on himself by signing with Tigers, seeking $100 million
If Torres declines the qualifying offer and signs with a new team in free agency, the Tigers would receive draft-pick compensation in the 2026 MLB Draft.
Here’s how the compensation works: If Torres signs for at least $50 million, the Tigers would receive a draft pick between the first round and Competitive Balance Round A, but if he signs for less than $50 million, the draft pick would fall between Competitive Balance Round B and the third round.
Torres, who turns 29 in mid-December, posted an above-average first half and a below-average second half in 2025. He hit .281 with an .812 OPS in 84 games before the All-Star break, then .223 with a .659 OPS in 61 games after the break.
He experienced his worst month in September.
The late-season struggles coincided with a sports hernia, which he played through in the regular season and postseason. He underwent surgery in late October and is expected to be cleared for full baseball activities by early December.
Before Torres, the Tigers hadn’t given out a qualifying offer since right-hander Max Scherzer and catcher Victor Martinez in 2014. Both players elected to test free agency: Scherzer signed with the Washington Nationals; Martinez re-signed with the Tigers.
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