Infielder Gleyber Torres is going to accept the qualifying offer from the Tigers. Jon Heyman of The New York Post was among those to report the news. Torres will return to Detroit on a one-year deal worth $22.025MM.
Once Torres received the QO, it seemed like there was a decent chance of him accepting it, which is why we predicted he would do so as part of our Top 50 Free Agents list. Torres was a free agent a year ago. He reportedly received some kind of multi-year offer from the Angels but rejected it since he wanted to play for a contending club. The financial details of that offer from the Halos aren’t known. He eventually settled for a one-year, $15MM pact with Detroit.
He didn’t meaningfully increase his earning power during the 2025 season. He slashed .256/.358/.387 for a wRC+ of 113. That was better than his 2024 season, when he hit .257/.330/.378 for a 105 wRC+, but close to his career numbers. He now has a .264/.337/.433 line and 114 wRC+ for his career.
That 2025 production came in lopsided fashion. He had a .281/.387/.425 line in the first half but just a .223/.320/.339 showing in the second, leading to respective wRC+ figures of 131 and 88. He underwent sports hernia surgery after the season and said he had been playing through the injury for months, staying on the field because the club was in a playoff race. Presumably, that accounts for the reduced production.
Theoretically, getting back to full health could perhaps help him return to that first-half form when he was a substantially better hitter, but he’s also going into the offseason hurt. He isn’t expected to be hampered into next season and the Tigers felt good enough about his chances in 2026 to give him a bit of a raise. Perhaps some clubs out there were willing to pay him a bit more but they also would have been subject to penalties on account of the QO. We at MLBTR were considering predicting Torres for something like $40MM over three years before he received the QO.
Torres hasn’t played a position other than second base in over three years, so he’ll return to the keystone in Detroit for another year. Per RosterResource, they are now slated for a payroll of $146MM next year. That’s a bit shy of their year-end payroll in 2025, which was $155MM. It’s unknown how much they are willing to spend next year. They are a speculative fit for third baseman Alex Bregman but seem likely to focus on pitching pursuits.
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images
Was definitely more than he would have gotten aav wise
Definitely higher than the AAV he’d get on the open market. The hope is he’d gain more in total value, which was likely, but he now removes the QO and is free to become a free agent next season without compensation attached. Just in time for the lock out!
Crazy I once remember Alex Rodriguez saying Torres was gonna be the next big Yankee. He does decent but 22 million is alot. Its pretty interesting the Tigers gave him a QO
A very easy decision for him.
Idk, with labor question marks on the horizon I was thinking Gleyber and others might just take a multi-year offer and let it ride. Cashing out for 1yr remains a reality!
This will be his highest AAV he gets, smart to take it now cause he would prob only get 15M/yr if he went to FA.
Total guaranteed dollars is far more important to most players.
How is it total guarantee gonna be affected if he banks more this year? Even if they put a salary cap on that really only affects the higher end tier of players he’ll still get around 15M a year from somebody
That’s not how a cap usually works. The good players still get paid, the middle of the road guys get squeezed.
Considering only about 1/4 of teams were over the quote on quote cap it really wouldn’t affect these guys especially the year after. Maybe a couple years down the line but we’re talking about Gleyber specifically. He will still get paid as long as he plays well again and without a QO attached which would have hampered his earning ability this offseason anyway.
I could be wrong but I don’t see any long time deals for infielders this year. Harris comments to me sounded like he was looking forward to bringing up some of the top prospects (Mcgonigle,Max Anderson etc).Reading the tea leaves I see a few bullpen arms and veteran starter for depth and maybe center fielder.
The labor issue could maybe work both ways? For example, if you think part of the season will be washed out after next season, take as much as you can get in 2026 and then sit back and wait for the lock out to end. Once that happens, teams will have a set payroll structure again, and history says teams spend more once a new labor deal is in place. They might be more hesitant with long-term money until the CBA is settled.
Just guessing.
As I suggested elsewhere, there’s no wrong answer or approach, Lordy! I would shop myself for a multi-year contract this offseason of all offseasons though! Just saying.
Since I was wrong on a couple of these today, I’ll go for three, although this will take 15 months or so to see if I am wrong. I don’t believe we’ll lose any of the 2027 season to a lockout. It will get nasty though during negotiations.
100% guarantee to get nastier than Nestor, Lordy! Cheers bub
Yeah it’s going to get ugly if the Manfred-Harper clubhouse encounter was any indication.
And that was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg! Good on ya, YBC. 🤙🏽🍻
Also, possible that teams don’t want guarantee multiple years with uncertainty coming
I do think that will play into free agency this offseason. Big stars like Tucker will not be impacted. Midrange and fringe guys may find it tougher going until there’s a deal.
Lord- yes I actually think it will mess with the markets some this year. I believe players are gonna want the most of from in 2026. This is a security blanket just in case the lockout last most or all of 2027.
Deal line Pivetta got last year are likely not to happen this year.
The splash is coming
that’s 3 right for me so far in the prediction contest
Please, now, no gloating.
His AAV if he had gotten a multi-year deal would have been similar to a Ben Gamel or worse… Roman Quinn…
Good move by the Tigers on extending this QO and equally good decision by Gleybar on accepting it. Looks like Colt will lock down 3rd and McGonigle will handle SS in 2026 with Javy & McKinstry playing super utility roles. Now Harris can focus on starting & relief pitching the rest of the offseason
If Gleyber is 100% healthy on Day One, I can see him having a Jorge Polanco 2025 sorta season. That would be fresh.
I’m happy that Gleyber is back for another year in Detroit. Hopefully his surgery fixes him up. Their 40-man roster just got crunchier. It will be interesting to see who gets booted off it tonight. The signing is probably another indication that the Tigers will probably hold off another year before bringing up McGonigle, Clark or Anderson.
Nope. With Skubal gone after 2026 (let’s be realistic), the Tigers will call up whomever they need to field as competitive a team as possible.
Yep. I am against more prospect hope alone, even if they have that great potential. Hire MLB talent NOW, the prospects become icing on the cake.
Get Bellinger. Trade for those Angel bombers. Spend every extra penny on top pitching, Woodruff ect….they can be traded later in the season to knock down payroll…..
Sales pitch = this year, the year of Skubal.
HIRE THE SUPERFIFE!
Pardon me, sir, but may I ask what a ‘superfife’ is supposed to be and why you identify yourself as one?? I seriously don’t know. Just curious, thank you.
What is one in 8,231,613,070, Alex?
They’d be dmn lucky to hire the Superfife.
Moses supposes his toeses are Roses
But Moses supposes erroneously
For Moses he knowses his toeses aren’t roses
As Moses supposes his toeses to be!
A Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose is
A rose is for Moses as potent as toeses
Couldn’t be a lily or a taffy-daffy-dilly
It’s gotta be a rose cuz it rhymes with mose
By any other name…you ISOB….
I am also a fan of Louis Armstrong, Carl Weathers and Kirk Gibson……
I miss Bernie Mac!
And the, “s” should be capitalized,”S”, in Superfife,….. no need to be ignorant your whole life….
I should have just left you in your Garden of Eden. Enjoy your bliss!
Some are born to greatness….
Others…..need to work really, really hard!
You could take a short cut. I’ll sell you the name…
Son of aaaabbbbb rather correction
Awesome! I completely understand now. Sorry I asked.
Well that was a quick offseason for the Tigers!! Cya at spring training
Fantastic for Detroit. I don’t see how Colt Keith fits this team going forward, especially with McGonigle coming up, I think they could trade Keith.
This might happen, Luke. They had McGonigle playing 3B exclusively at AFL. I’m not convinced they see him as a SS. Now with Gleyber as our 2B, If McGonigle makes the team out of ST, that would probably make Keith the odd-man out. And Keith has an extremely team-friendly contract.
What we really need is another power bat. Not another 15 HR guy.
Too early to give up on Colt IMO.
He trended upward last season just like he has every year. I thought his defense at 3B was much better at the end of 2025. His power will come. The dude is built like a linebacker.
Gleyber staying allows McGonigle to develop a little more in Toledo. He needs to prove himself against AAA pitching before trying to tackle the best pitchers on earth, while his defense has plenty of room for improvement.
Pirates reportedly allowing Konnor Griffin to make club out of ST, probably making him immediately the ROY favorite. Scott may think McGonigle would have better shot at ROY in 2027.
There’s also still the question of whether the Tigers pursue Bregman or Bichette.
I’d love to see Colt become that power bat we need.
I highly doubt we’re in the mix for Bregman or Bichette at this point… Especially after Gleyber accepted his QO. Last year, Bregman made more sense. But now that McGonigle, Max Anderson and Hao Yu Lee all had pretty strong 2025 seasons, I don’t think there’s any way Harris will be willing to get tied up in a 6-7 year deal knowing one of those three is probably capable of stepping up and filling our hole at 3B.
I think Colt’s power will come. The guy is built like a linebacker. His defense at 3B improved as well. He’s only 24 and has improved every year his whole baseball career.
Signing a 32-year-old Bregman scares me. There’s already $48M owed to a limited-production Javy. How many years of Bregman’s contract will be productive? I prefer Bichette of the two, but I’m not sure he’s a perfect fit now that Gleyber has accepted the QO.
I’ve seen reports that the Twins are going to continue their cheap ways and Buxton may be willing to waive his no=trade clause. BB would be a great bat to add to the lineup. Tigers need a RHed OF.
KG winning roy has zero effect on Detroit. Pirates may or may not be willing to call him up. It’s just marketing attempt right now.
You are correct. I erred in saying KGriffin was a factor since he’s in the other league. (each league has ROY)
So far the only player to accept the offer that is even reasonably surprising is Imanaga. Torres, Grisham, and Woodruff likely all would have been handicapped by the draft pick compensation and Torres and Grisham especially were probably never getting $22 million per season anywhere
I wasn’t sure about Shota, would have thought he’d look for a multi-year deal too. I don’t hate the move for the Cubs, it’s just not what I expected.
I thought for sure Grisham was going to walk because CF is such a dire position for many teams…like I thought he had Mets written all over him. Hmmmmm.
I hope tigers eat money and ship Javy off someplace so they can bring McGonigle to Detroit to start the season. I’m sure McGonigle is going to bring enough value that you really aren’t eating that much money from an analytic view. Plus the extra pick if he finishes top 3 in rookie voting is a bonus.
Torres won’t be extended after this coming season so you can shift Kevin to second/third if they think he’s better off there.
Tigers won’t eat that much money. Javy stays at least one more season as much as people want him gone. Javy is still the best defensive SS in the Tigers organization and outside of Carp, he was the only other guy to swing the bat in the playoffs.
McGonigle may end up in Toledo for 2026. He needs at least SOME more developmental time in Toledo. He is a legit rookie of the year candidate when he’s ready for the BIG jump to MLB. The Tigers have a chance to win that one.
But that may be in 2027, though, as the Pirates are reportedly giving Konnor Griffin a chance to make the club out of ST in 2026. Griffin would be ROY favorite as top=rated prospect.
Keith’s progression continued last season. I doubt the Tigers are going to give up on him already and I don’t think they should. Eventually he may be traded, but not before they have a legitimate replacement.
Could that be Bregman or Bichette in ’26? Or McGonigle in ’27?
The Tigers are trying to make the signing of Keith to a long term contract a bust. No other team signs a player, then changes his position from 3B to 2B, signs a FA 2B, moves the long term contract player to 1B, then DH, then 3B. When you have the faith to sign a player long term, you develop that player. Keith needs to be left in one position defensively, and just allowed to hit!
3B. He did fine there and they can dodge the Bregman bullet and go get Bellinger instead.
Hard to bust with such a cheap contract. He looks to have a very solid floor as average player good chance staying above average. Unless he some how is below average the contract is fine.
Pirates bringing Griffin up has no bearing on McGonigle winning AL ROY
You are correct sir. I stand corrected.
Love it.
That look on your face would say otherwise
Well at least I was right on this one! lol.
He and Shota aren’t super surprising, but Woodruff and Grisham are very surprising.
Well with Torres that makes 4 more than I thought would accept the QO.
I think it’s time for Keith to go. Pittsburgh might like him in exchange for some pitching.
I’m sure several teams would like an upward-trending, 2-year MLB veteran with a team-friendly contract who hasn’t even played his age-24 season yet.
Smart move. Good 1 year contract and removes the QO next year. He had a good year with bat control but the rest of his numbers are his career best. He has a great year maybe he turns it into a 5 for 125.
Not bad for the Tigers at all. If he’s 100% and can go all season like he did the 1st half this year, he will be a tremendous asset.
This gives the Tigers time to fold McGonigal and Anderson (maybe Lee too) into the infield mix.
Or he can be traded at the deadline and give one of the kids (Anderson, Keith, McGonigal…or even Lee) 2nd base for the rest of the season.
Torres goes into next season with no QO attachment which makes him slightly more valuable as a FA.
$22+ million this year. Maybe 3/$45 ’27-29. $67 million over 4 or $82 million over 5 (if you include this past year) and that’s darn good.
He likes playing with Javy and vice versa. I see no downside anywhere in this.
Smart move by Torres, take the guaranteed money and try again next season. Hard to turn down 22 million on a hunch, possibly made 30-40 on 3 years but now he can do 2-20 after this season and be equipped with money if that doesn’t happen. Plus I’m glad he’s returning to Detroit, he lengthens the lineup
You can’t say they made a serious effort until they trade or drop all of those “depth” pieces….
Depth pieces are MLB players on a serious professional team. That’s how to win.