Free Agency is LIVE: Player Option Decisions, Gleyber Torres QO, and More!

Free Agency is LIVE: Player Option Decisions, Gleyber Torres QO, and More!

Free agency is officially here. Let’s talk about it all today on Locked on Tigers. You are Locked on Tigers, your daily Detroit Tigers podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. What is up everybody? Welcome back to another edition of Locked On Tigers. I’m of course your host, Scott Bentley. Today is Friday, November 7th, 2025. Thank you so much for making Lockdown Tigers your first listen every single day. We are free and available wherever you get your podcasts, including YouTube, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every single day. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. So download the app today. Welcome in. Welcome all everybody. Happy Friday. We have a fun episode today as free agency has officially kicked off as of 5:00 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, November 6th. And we have a lot of deadlines that have to be well that were rather that had to be ironed out by the time free agency officially opened at 5:00 p.m. So, we have the final decisions on a lot of player options, team options, uh qualifying offers, what injured players are going to return to rosters, all of that good stuff. and uh we’ll take a look at the Tigers decisions and then we’ll take a look around the league and see some other there’s one big surprise one that uh people are already talking about but uh a lot of really surprising news throughout the league on Thursday so we will get into all of that today first let’s start with the options the the the player and club and mutual option decisions I guess also kind of vesting options but those aren’t really decisions. Those are more like you hit a certain whatever. Um um not important. Okay. Not important. Jack Flity we talked about earlier this week. $20 million player option. He has opted in. The other three players in the Tigers organization that had some sort of option attached to their name were Paul Seawald mutual option. The Tigers declined their end. So, he will become a free agent. Randy Donneck, club option. The Tigers declined that one. And Jose Ariti, $4 million club option. And we found out on Thursday, the Tigers also declined that one. I am super fine with this. Uh, Flity can hopefully bounce back. We talked about that a little bit earlier in the week, so we don’t have to go too much in depth on that again. But the other three, I mean, we we’ve talked about it all off seasonason already, right? like I I I didn’t really think there was a chance that any of those three guys were going to be impact players on the team in 2026. I I thought that there was a chance they’d pick up club option just because it was cheap. Like it’s only $4 million. Um, but we did not see anything from him that guaranteed major league caliber production in 2026. And 4 mil for a non highle leverage reliever is a decent that’s a pretty penny. That’s not nothing. So, uh, makes sense that they decline all of them. I’m pleased that they declined all of them. And that’s not even a a a personal thing on the three guys that they declined. There is nothing that says that you can’t decline an option and then sign these guys to like minor league contracts. Um but uh there was no world in which Paul Seawald was going to be worth $10 million or or or that any team is going to willingly pay Paul Seald $10 million for his services in 2026. I have a hard time believing anybody’s going to play Jose or Kiti $4 million for his services in 2026. And Randy Donneck, I mean, his option was six mill. He he pitched in the minor leagues almost all year this year. Like, he’s almost certainly going to get a minor league contract wherever he ends up. So, the Tigers saw firsthand what they were offering and kind of what those guys looked like coming off of you, well, two of the three coming off of injuries, right, in Seaw Wald and in Ariti. If they like what they saw, then they can sign him to minor league deals, give them invites to spring training and see if they can make the team out of camp. And if not, they either become free agents again at the start of the season or they go in Toledo and then are called up, you know, when somebody’s hurt. Very similar to what they actually did this year for the Detroit Tigers, actually, now that I’m thinking about it. So, we’ll see. And there’s also the more likely option is just that they’re not part of the Tigers organization anymore and they move on and they find work elsewhere. um qualifying offers. This was the big news on Thursday, the big ticket item, if you will. Want to put it out there before we start this conversation. Players have until November 18th to accept or decline qualifying offers. That doesn’t mean they have to sign with a team period by then. obviously winter meetings and the like. There are plenty of players that will go through that, but they do have to make a decision on the qualifying offer by November 18th. We’ll start with the Tigers news because this is after all locked on Tigers. Glaver Torres does in fact receive a qualifying offer. He’s the only Tiger to do so. He has just under two weeks to either accept the one-year $22 million deal or reject it. Now, if he accepts it, then that’s that. He’s back. His salary is 22.05 mil or whatever it is. A and he can’t get offered the qualifying offer ever again, but he he’s back next season for the Detroit Tigers at that salary. If he rejects it, he can still resign with Detroit in theory. I I I don’t think that’s happened very often in the history of the qualifying offer, but in theory, that is still a possibility. If he were to reject it and sign elsewhere, not only would the Detroit Tigers get a compensatory pick for losing him, right? And that would be in between the first and second round, which is awesome. top 50 pick, potentially top 40 pick for a guy not signing with you that you only signed to a one-year deal. That’s a decent return on investment there. Okay? And the team that does sign him loses a pick in next year’s draft. Now, there’s a little bit of nuance to like which pick. Uh depends on a lot of factors. What team signs him, the the salary, etc., etc. It cannot be a first round pick. So they will not lose a firstrounder. However, they could lose anything else. So this becomes somewhat interesting to me because I don’t think that Glaver is going to get 22 or more million dollar a year, right? AAV in free agency. especially not for multiple years. Now you add the fact that on top of the whatever the AAV ends up being 15 to 20 mil let’s say somewhere in that range deal for multiple seasons that he is seeking would also have to forfeit a draft pick that could be pretty decent could be as high as a second round pick. makes this a lot more interesting. I want to dive a little bit deeper into that. We’ll do that right after this. First though, going to talk to you about our friends over at Prize Pix. This episode brought to you by Prize Pix. You and I make decisions every day. But on Prize Pix, being right can actually get you paid. Don’t miss any of the excitement of this sports season. Whether you’re following the NFL, NBA, or both, there’s no better time to jump in on the action. And if you haven’t tried it yet, prize picks is the simplest way to play. You just pick more or less on at least two player stats, and if you get them right, you win. It takes less than 60 seconds to make your lineup. And you can play anywhere Prize Pix operates. That includes California, Texas, and Georgia. I’ve been using Prize Pix during both football Sundays and NBA tip offs, and it keeps everything exciting. You just download the prize picks app today and you can use code lockdown MLB to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code lockdown MLB for $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup prize picks. It’s good to be right. All right, everybody. Welcome back here. Segment two, Locked On Tigers. Appreciate youall for tuning in as always, making us your first listen every single day. Shout out to the everydayers that do tune in every day. And we of course will be back on Monday recapping first weekend of free agency talking about any other news and notes surrounding the Tigers organization. Now, picking up where we left off with Glabber before the break there. We’ve been talking about the possibility of him receiving a qualifying offer all week. uh it kind of on the fence somewhat 5050 maybe 6040 in that regard. I I’m the thing is I’m not certain that with all of those stipulations I listed before the break, plus he played poorly in the second half, plus he’s coming off of an injury, that another team is going to be chomping at the bit to get a weak defender with very little power give up one of their higher draft picks, anywhere from like their fifth highest highest to their second highest depending on again a lot of other factors. Luxury tax, whether the team’s over the luxury tax, under the luxury tax, uh the revenue sharing team, like all that, you know, salary, all that stuff. But like a I mean almost certainly a pretty high pick and all of those other things included. I I’m not saying it was a bad decision by the Tigers to do this, okay? I’m just saying I mean only 14 people have ever accepted a qualifying offer and and I I think there’s a it wouldn’t shock me if Glabber became the 15th. Like the Tigers are in a decent spot with it where they can either, you know, he rejects it, okay, they get a draft pick and they can spend that money elsewhere. Great. or he opts in and for one more year they have another low whiff rate, high walk rate guy that they can put at the top of their lineup and hopefully, you know, he doesn’t get hurt and and puts up numbers similar to what he did in the first half all year, right? I mean, that that would be the hope. So, it certainly not going to be mad if he like accepts it. I I just I’m not sure the market was that. And I’m also there’s just a lot of other moving parts in terms of what happens with him. So, we’ll keep an eye on that. Um, it I still think he’s not going to be a Tiger. I think the Tigers I think the Tigers offered him a qualifying offer with the intention that he was going to reject it. I don’t think they offered him that with the intention of boy I really hope we that he accepts this. Now obviously they’ve weighed the pros and cons and are fine if he accepts it or else they wouldn’t have offered him but I think that they’re banking on he declines it. They can use that 22 mil elsewhere. Colt Keith is going to play second base and they’ll move on with their lives. We’ll see. We’ll see. Other players to receive a qualifying offer this year are Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber, Bo Bashette, Framber Valdez, Dylan CE, Ranger Suarez, Edwin Diaz, Zack Gallon, Shota, Imanaga, Michael King, Trent Gisham, and Brandon Woodruff. So, if the Tigers sign anybody that I just listed, they will be losing a draft pick of varying value. Okay, cool. Just want to make that clear. Uh, no real surprises on this list. I guess like the Imanaga situation is kind of exciting just because like he like they the Cubs opt out then, you know, then he has a player option that he declines and then they offer him a qualifying offer. like that that is fully just they’re expecting him to sign elsewhere and they want a draft pick out of it is is really what that is. Um that that’s really the only one of note. I mean I guess Trent Gisham not a surprise given the year he had this year. However, if you would have told me, you know, after the 2023 season that Trent Gisham would be uh the the caliber of talent to get a qualifying offer, I I I probably would have laughed at you. He he’s had a big turnaround here the last year, season and a halfish. So, good for him. I mean, honestly, to to work his way into uh into that category and the rest are just like the most obvious things ever. Like, all the best free agents always get qualifying offers every year because they know they’re going to leave or they know they’re going to sign big contracts, so you might as well have some insurance and get a draft pick out of it. Um, Tigers also claim a pitcher off of waiverss. Jack Little, a 27year-old right-handed pitcher. He has a fastball slider and a splitter. He’s only thrown three innings at the major league level and has pretty middle of the road minor league stats. I would say the stuff is is decent. Uh he’s got a mid90s fast ball, good chase numbers with the the splitter and with the slider. Um the Tigers could use a decent, you know, low leverage righty like that. So he’s on the 40man roster because they claimed him. I I feel as though this is the type of guy that you claim early in the off season and then you put him on waivers yourself in like two weeks and you see if you can sneak him through waivers and then he clears and then he’s a part of the Tigers organization going forward but he’s not on the 40man roster and you got him for literally free. That’s what this strikes me as. But we’ll see. Uh, we’ll see. We’ll see. Uh, I don’t know. Maybe he’s the closer of 2026. I mean, who knows? No, obviously say that tongue and cheek, but um, this is common practice with what Scott Harris and this front office have done in his tenure here. And, uh, yeah, I I mean, if he becomes a solid depth pitching option for the organization, then it’s a win. It literally costs you nothing. and uh I would imagine he’s one of the first to get booted off the 40man when a signing happens. Let’s also talk about the injured list going away. The injured list disappears, vanishes right in front of your eyes on Thursday, November 6th. It does not come back until spring training. So, Bo Brisky, Shawn Gunther, Jackson Job, Tai Madden, Reese Olsson, and Jason Foley all get removed from the 60-day injured list and added to the 40man roster. The only other injured player uh on the 60-day injured list that did not get added was obviously Alex Cobb because that was a one-year deal. So, he’s a free agent. Um the 40man is now at 40 heading in to free agency heading into now that free agency is open. They have exactly 40 players on it. So there’s no uh you know got to shave a certain amount of players off or got to you know option or wave people or whatever. They just are at 40 at the start of free agency. That also means that if the Tigers are to sign, hopefully when they will sign, but if they are to sign anybody going forward, they will have to make room on the 40man by DFAing or OP or or waving somebody on said roster to make room uh one for one switches. So again, Jack Little probably a guy that’s pretty high on that list if it’s a reliever or a pitcher in general. Uh we’ll see what happens with the position players. Okay, let’s talk about other news in baseball. There’s a couple of other uh kind of surprising decisions that were made that could affect the Tigers and there’s a couple that are just wow shocking decisions in general that I kind of just want to riff about. We’ll do both of those things right after this. First though, got to talk to you’all about our friends over at FanDuel. The NBA is back. There’s no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you missed the start of the game or want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything you want to bet on from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you can even combine your bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team is making the late push. Right now, FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets to when you use your first $5 bet. So, that’s fuel.com. Sign up today with FanDuel. First $5 bet, if it wins, gets you $300 in bonus bets for new customers. FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. All right, everybody. Welcome back here. Third and final segment of Lockdown Tigers. Appreciate y’all for tuning in. As always, want to take a look at some news and notes from around the league. The big one is Pete Fairbanks will be a free agent immediately. Becomes one of the best free agents available on the market. Somewhat of a surprise. It was an 11 million option. Not a surprise because it’s the raise and I have a hard time believing they want to pay anyone 11 mil, no less a reliever. Um, but Pete Fairbanks has been one of the better backend relievers in the American League for what, the better part of four or five years now. Um, I I think it’s safe to say has taken a slight step back over the last couple years now. Also has dealt with a lot of injury stuff, which I’m sure plays a role in that. 31 years old, right-handed pitcher, um just has always had an incredible fast ball that has always gotten a lot of success and always had a lot of success at the major league level. It’ll be interesting to see what his market looks like. Again, I I just I can’t imagine he is not one of the more soughtafter relievers on the market. Um he had a new pitch this year. Jeff Passen of ESPN actually wrote a great piece kind of highlighting the cutter that he added to his mix and how it’s helped him kind of navigate through maybe all of the the injuries that he has gone through over the last few years. Um, but this is a guy that at his peak was one of the best backend relievers, one of the best closers in the American League and was elite at getting swing and miss. this year. Again, took a step back in that department. Um, I would be over the moon if the Detroit Tigers signed Pete Fairbanks. Um, do I think that’s going to happen? No. Because I think they’re going to pro I think he’s probably going to get a decent paycheck here. And I have a hard time believing the Tigers are going to be giving out, you know, 10 15 million AAV to relievers. Um, but uh I it, you know, it’s fun to dream on November 7th. A man can dream, right? Is that a problem? Can I can I not dream of Pete Fairbanks being a Detroit Tiger? That’s what I thought. Let me live. Okay, we’ll see what happens. Um, the two biggest news points on Thursday in the baseball world, however, were hires for either managerial openings or front office openings. One is Craig Stamon, who is now the manager of the San Diego Padres’s. He was the special assistant to the general manager in Pller in San Diego. That is one of the what like the only more shocking signing of the off season is probably the Giants appointing a college coach their manager. Like that there might even be an argument that’s actually more shocking. That that is that that is completely out of left field. Um, I guess from the Tigers perspective, you look at it as another potential George Lumbard suitor goes down and and you know, your guy who’s considered to be one of the best bench coaches in baseball in a managerial um a managerial topic of conversation literally every winter. Looks like he’s, you know, in line to stay another year now. So that I mean I I’ll take that, I guess. But a very very surprising move. And then to me, the biggest news out of the baseball world on Thursday, just because it’s my favorite movie of all time is uh Paul Depodesta named the president of baseball operations for the Colorado Rockies. That is wild. For those who don’t know, Paul Depodesta is Peter Brand from Moneyball in real life. Uh he he his name his real name he didn’t want in the movie. bunch of other stuff you can read about, you know, his uh thoughts on the movie and and you know, why he didn’t want his name attached to it, but like the inspiration for, I guess, is the better way to put it than Peter Brand for Jonah Hill’s character in Moneyball is Paul De Bodesta. He was the athletics front office guy that worked with Billy Bean. And uh in a wild turn of events after bouncing around to a few different baseball teams, you know, a while ago he uh bro probably what six or seven years ago now. I mean a a while ago he jumped over to football and he’s actually been very high up in the Cleveland Browns organization for the last several years. Now returns to baseball to run. This is the ultimate irony for me. This is why baseball is the best. There is a movie about how revolutionary statistics, you know, took over front offices in baseball 20 years ago and it was literally made with this dude in mind. Okay? And now he takes over 20 years later. He takes over the organization that is widely known for having the single worst and least and poorly funded analytics department in maybe all of sports because sports that is effing awesome. Okay, th this is like you know this league type of stuff. This is you you you put some popcorn in the microwave and you just see what happens. He is either going to completely crash and burn or he is going to invest hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars into getting the Colorado Rockies who literally there are quotes from other people from around the league that say the Rockies are stuck in like prehistoric times when it comes to how they view the game of baseball. and he’s going to invest millions of dollars into improving that and getting a real analytics department and you know proper uh whatever statcast readings and all that kind of good stuff. It it is that is so fascinating and awesome to me. I I cannot wait to see what happens. And I think that honestly, first off, go listen to Locked on Rockies. Great show. I I think that honestly that’s kind of what the Rockies need. They need like because it is so impossible to pitch there. They will never sign a bigname pitching free agent ever. It just won’t happen. But they have made successful teams with like they’ve had been in the play they’ve been in the World Series, right? like they have built successful good teams despite that before. So, they’re going to need someone who really thinks outside the box to come in and I I guess just kind of lay out an archetype for what this team is is looking for, what the Rockies are looking for. kind of lay an outline, if you will, of what this roster is going to look like and what it has to have in it to be successful because I’m not sure anyone has quite figured it out yet. And the Rockies have been around for 30 years now. It would be an awesome full circle moment if Paul Deodesta brought a ring to Colorado. That would be the best ending to Moneyball ever. That’d be awesome. Thanks, Megan. Locked on Tigers, your first listen every single day. Shouts to the every day that do tune in every day. And we will, of course, be back on Monday recapping the first weekend of free agency. We will get back to player breakdowns at some point. Uh we’ll do that probably in the coming weeks as well. Hope you all have a fantastic and safe weekend. Peace and love. Going to the dope and I’ll catch y’all Monday, baby. Go Tigers.

Today we discuss the start of free agency for the Detroit Tigers. We talk Gleyber Torres qualifying offer, player and club options, and more!

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