Detroit — The Tigers roster will be impacted by a couple of decisions that are due by 4 p.m. Tuesday.

The first decision belongs to All-Star second baseman Gleyber Torres. If he decides to accept the Tigers’ $22.05 million qualifying offer, he will return to his post in Detroit for the 2026 season at age 29.

If he declines the qualifying offer, he becomes a free agent and signs with another team, the Tigers will subsequently get a compensatory draft pick in July.

Torres, one of 13 players across the league who received a qualifying offer, is coming off sports hernia surgery and is expected to be full go by the start of spring training in February.

Also Tuesday, president Scott Harris and his staff must decide which prospects, if any, to add to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 10.

Last year, the Tigers left catcher Liam Hicks unprotected and he was selected by the Miami Marlins. He wound up playing 119 games in a solid rookie season.

It is likely some big league-ready players will be exposed to the draft again. The Tigers have five players ranked among their top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline eligible for the Rule 5 draft:

▶ Catcher Thayron Liranzo (No. 5): Acquired from the Dodgers in the Jack Flaherty trade two years ago, the highly-regarded, switch-hitting catcher struggled mightily at Double-A Erie last season (.206/.308/.351 with 125 strikeouts in 88 games). But he’s going into his age-22 season and likely to be protected.

▶ Infielder Hao-Yu Lee (No. 6): Lee, 22 and acquired from the Phillies for Michael Lorenzen in 2023, was given an opportunity to win a roster spot last spring but his production waned after a strong start. He rallied and had a productive season at Triple-A Toledo (14 homers, 61 RBI, .748 OPS), playing second and third base.

▶ Left-handed pitcher Jake Miller (No. 19): Interesting decision here. After an eye-opening season in 2024 when he jumped three levels in the Tigers’ system, he was limited to just six starts and 20 innings last year because of a back injury. Last year the Tigers protected right-hander Tyler Mattison, even though he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. With the system light on near-ready pitching prospects, it’s possible the Tigers won’t take a chance on losing Miller.

▶ Third baseman Izaac Pacheco (No. 21): Entering his age-23 season, Pacheco repeated High-A last year, but he seemed to finally tap into the power the Tigers had projected when they drafted him in the second round out of high school in 2021. He slugged .499 at West Michigan with 17 homers and 68 RBIs.

▶ Right-handed pitcher R.J. Petit (No. 30): It was a mild surprise he wasn’t called up last season. The 6-8, 300-pounder posted a career-best 10-2 record with a 2.44 ERA, 1.055 WHIP and averaged 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo. Entering his age-26 season, he would be a hard one for teams to pass up in the Rule 5 draft.  

Other Rule 5-eligible prospects include utility player Trei Cruz, catcher Eduardo Valencia, outfielders Justice Bigbie, Ben Malgeri, Roberto Campos and Seth Stephenson, and pitchers Yosber Sanchez, Lael Lockhart and Tanner Kohlhepp.

The 40-man roster is presently full after the Tigers claimed a pair of right-handed relievers — Dugan Darnell and Jack Little — off waivers last week.

chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com

@cmccosky