Tigers projected to trade frontline starting pitcher to save coin

Jared Bloom

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Tigers projected to trade frontline starting pitcher to save coin image

The Detroit Tigers came into the offseason looking to lock down Gleyber Torres for the 2026 season. They offered him a $22.025 million qualifying offer in which he accepted. 

That is quite a lot of dough to dish out on a qualifying offer, but Torres was excellent in 2025. Across 145 regular-season games, the slugger hit.256/.358/.387 with 22 doubles, 16 home runs, and 74 runs batted in. 

Now, the front office turns its attention to other matters, like what they are going to do with Tarik Skubal and what free agents they are targeting over the winter. However, that is not all they can do over the next few months. 

Tigers projected to trade frontline starting pitcher to save coin

The Tigers could also see what the trade market is looking like. They have a few players they can dangle, Tarik Skubal included, that could interest other teams. 

Jack Flaherty recently declined his opt-out for the 2026 season and is staying with Detroit. Despite this, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller views him as the perfect trade candidate for Detroit. 

"With Gleyber Torres accepting his qualifying offer, it becomes even more likely Detroit will try to trade away Flaherty, lest they have four players (Torres, Flaherty, Javier Baez, and possibly Skubal, whose salary in arbitration remain to be seen) making at least 420 million next season. Not only would moving Flaherty save some coin, but it also better enables them to use 2026 to find out which pitchers they can count on for 2027 and beyond."

Not only would moving on from Flaherty save them some money, but it would also allow them to see what their options are in 2027. On top of that, Flaherty would likely draw a considerable amount of attention from teams that are looking to bolster their starting rotation.

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Staff Writer