Decision day is approaching for Gleyber Torres.
If he accepts, he returns to the Tigers for the 2026 season and can become a free agent again next offseason. If he declines, he remains a free agent this offseason, with the Tigers receiving a compensatory draft pick once he signs elsewhere.
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.
There’s a real chance Torres accepts the qualifying offer and returns to the Tigers.
It’s an outcome he has been weighing.
Only 14 of 144 players have accepted the qualifying offer since the system began in 2012 – and no position player has done so since 2022, when outfielder Joc Pederson returned to the San Francisco Giants. Of the 13 players in 2025, Torres is the top candidate to accept the qualifying offer.
“The right-handed bat in the lineup, his ability to grind out at-bats, put the ball in play a ton, get on base, set that tempo at the top of the lineup, the presence in the clubhouse – those are all big things,” Greenberg said. “The fact that we made him the qualifying offer is a reflection of how we feel about Gleyber. We had that decision to make.”
At the GM meetings, Torres’ agent – Jose Mijares of Octagon – met with teams to gauge the free-agent market, which will drive the decision about the qualifying offer. He is believed to be seeking at least a four-year contract.
Torres is projected for a four-year, $72 million deal in free agency by FanGraphs.
If teams show interest in a four-year deal, Torres is expected to decline the qualifying offer and remain on the market. If the interest is limited to one, two and three years, he is expected to accept the qualifying offer and return to the Tigers.
Returning to the Tigers could be the best move for Torres.
In December 2024, Torres signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Tigers. When he signed, he had a three-step plan: Increase his value with his performance, return to the free-agent market and secure a contract worth at least $100 million.
That nine-figure payday won’t happen in the 2025-26 offseason.
In July 2025, Torres appeared on track for the nine-figure deal when he made the All-Star Game for the third time in his eight-year MLB career, hitting .281 with an .812 OPS in 84 games in the first half. His results plummeted in the second half, hitting just .223 with a .659 OPS in 61 games.
Torres ranked sixth among the 155 qualified players with a .387 on-base percentage before the All-Star break, and 89th among 160 qualified players at .320 after the All-Star break.
Overall, Torres hit .256 with 16 home runs, 85 walks and 101 strikeouts across 145 games, posting a .745 OPS. His 13.5% walk rate and 16.1% strikeout rate were the best among the Tigers. As the everyday second baseman, he was worth minus-4 defensive runs saved over 1,146⅓ innings.
Despite being the top free-agent second baseman, his market has been negatively impacted for three reasons: the second-half slump, a sports hernia surgery in late October after he played through pain for one month and the draft-pick compensation attached to his qualifying offer. He also limited his options last offseason by insisting on playing exclusively at second base and considering only teams that hold spring training in Florida.
There is one major positive: Torres turns 29 in mid-December (a couple of weeks after he is expected to be cleared for baseball activities in his return from the surgery), which means he remains in his prime, even as a multi-time free agent.
If Torres still hopes to reach $100 million, his clearest path there is to accept the one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer from the Tigers this offseason. (Once a player has been tagged with the qualifying offer, they can’t be tagged again.) He could then secure a four-year, $80 million deal next offseason (with no threat to the signing team of losing a draft pick). Just like that, the combination of the two contracts would equal five years and $100 million.
One more reason why Torres might accept the qualifying offer?
He loved playing for the Tigers in 2025.
“If he’s on our team, it will affect the rest of the outlook of the offseason,” Greenberg said. “Right now, we had our decision to make. We extended the qualifying offer. We’ll see what he ultimately decides. We’ll go from there.”
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