The Detroit Tigers have a lot of eyes on them when it comes to their offseason decisions, especially with Tarik Skubal.
But, there's one thing that Skubal will have in common with Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson: his arbitration deadline is Thursday afternoon. But, unlike Skubal, the other two Tigers stars have received their contract updates for the 2026 season.
According to Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press and Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, the Tigers have avoided arbitration on Green and Torkleson on a combined $9 million in updated contract terms.
Tigers avoid arbitration with $9 million contract update on pair of stars
"Source: Spencer Torkleson and Tigers agree on $4.075 million contract for 2026, avoiding arbitration," Petzold reports.
Torkelson had a breakout 2025 season, hitting.240 with 31 home runs, 145 hits, and putting up 2.3 bWAR. While it's not an All-Star caliber season, it's a huge step in the right direction for Torkelson.
His.789 OPS was what the Tigers were hoping for, and after showing that through 155 games in 2025, the Tigers are hoping he continues to progress and shows another strong season in 2026 as the Tigers' first baseman.
"Tigers have also avoided arbitration with Riley Greene ($5 million) and Will Vest ($3.95 million)." McCosky reports.
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Greene, on the other hand, has come to terms on a bigger deal, despite having a slightly worse season by bWAR (2.2) than Torkelson.
He hit.258 and had an.806 OPS, but his league-leading 201 strikeouts were a major concern, and are something that the All-Star outfielder will need to fix this season.
But, with a couple more years under club control, Greene will have plenty of time to cut down on his strikeout total from this past season.
Vest getting $3.95 million is also of note, but with Kyle Finnegan and Kenley Jansen, he's not likely to have the same role he did to open the 2025 season as the team's top reliever.
Overall, the Tigers are bringing a few key players back on contracts to avoid arbitration, with Green and Torkleson the headliners in the early window of signings for the Tigers.
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