Detroit Tigers Roster Decisions and Rule 5 Options

The Detroit Tigers Have a Crowded Roster

Detroit Tigers fans are still feeling the sting of a second consecutive loss in the ALDS. And, from the tone of the season-ending press conference, the front office is, too. But the business of baseball continues. So let’s begin looking toward the 2026 season by cleaning up the 2025 roster a bit.

Detroit Tigers Roster

There are currently 47 players on the Detroit Tigers 40-man roster. Those seven extra players are all on the 60-day Injured List, and the Tigers will need to make room for most of them. That won’t be an issue, because there are seven unrestricted free agents on the roster, and three more players with options.

Free Agents

Unrestricted 
Alex Cobb
Kyle Finnegan
Tommy Kahnle
Rafael Montero
Chris Paddack
Tanner Rainey
Gleyber Torres

Options
Jack Flaherty – $20 million player option
Paul Sewald – $10 million mutual option, with $1 million buyout
José Urquidy – $4 million team option that can climb to $7.65 million with 28 games started in 2026

Analysis: Kyle Finnegan pitched well with the Tigers, and fans would probably like to have him back. But that solid performance likely upped his price tag. It will be fascinating to see if the Tigers give Gleyber Torres the qualifying offer, which has nudged just over $22 million for one year. Torres had a good season, but it’s hard to imagine anyone offering him $22 million in free agency, particularly after news that he needs hernia surgery. Detroit would love the potential draft-pick compensation, but we’re guessing they won’t extend the QO, because Torres might very well accept it.

Jack Flaherty is another interesting case. He landed back in Detroit because teams weren’t willing to give him the multi-year deal he sought. But he was a less effective pitcher in 2025. His walk rate rose, his strikeout rate fell, and his ERA jumped from 3.17 to 4.64, though he still posted a middle-of-the-pack FIP of 3.85. But it’s hard to imagine teams lining up to give him that long contract after his 2025 season. We think he will opt in. As for Urquidy, according to the transaction log at Baseball America, it appears the Tigers have already turned down his option and re-signed him to a minor-league deal. If that’s not accurate, we would expect the Tigers to pick up his relatively cheap option.

Non-Tender Candidates

If Flaherty and Urquidy return, the Tigers will have 39 players on their roster. That doesn’t leave much room for free agents or Rule 5 eligible players. So we expect a few non-tenders, though some may stay in the organization and sign minor-league deals. Below are some candidates, with estimated salary numbers taken from MLB Trade Rumors.

Arbitration Eligible
Beau Brieske – ($1.3 million)
Jason Foley – ($3.15 million)
Andy Ibanez – ($1.8 million)
Alex Lange – ($900K)
Zack McKinstry – ($3.5 million)
Matt Vierling – ($3.1 million)

Pre-Arb
Sawyer Gipson-Long
Sean Guenther
Jace Jung
Brenan Hanifee
Justyn-Henry Malloy
Bailey Horn
Chase Lee
Tyler Mattison
Dylan Smith
Drew Sommers
Trey Sweeney

Analysis: Among arbitration-eligible players, Zack McKinstry seems like the only lock to be tendered. Andy Ibanez is the most likely non-tender. Decisions on the other four players may come down to health. The Tigers under Scott Harris typically don’t make roster moves until they have to, but we would expect a few of the above pre-arb players to experience a little roster churn. Tyler Mattison, in particular, seems like a candidate to be non-tendered and then re-signed to a minor-league deal.

Rule 5 Adds

Let’s start with some of the players who do NOT need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason:

• Max Anderson
• Josue Briceno
• Max Clark
• Kevin McGonigle
• Andrew Sears

We mention them because a few may still make the roster out of spring training, which could cause a little chaos. Now, let’s take a look at who will need to be added.

Near Locks

• Hao-Yu Lee (IF)
• Thayron Liranzo (C)

Lee and Liranzo have very different profiles, but they share some common traits. Both were acquired in deadline deals made by Scott Harris, both rank highly on our prospect list, and both are coming off down seasons. But rebuilding teams would likely jump at the chance to add either of these players.

Hao-Yu Lee was a spring training darling who had some flaws exposed in Triple-A this year. But he’ll be just 23 next season, and he’s a right-handed bat with an interesting mix of power and speed, along with a little defensive versatility. If nothing else, he seems like he could grow into Andy Ibanez’s lefty-mashing infielder replacement.

Thayron Liranzo had a rough season in Double-A. He has a lot of holes in his swing, he’s still a work in progress behind the plate, and nagging injuries relegated him to DH duty over his final 30 games. Liranzo would get destroyed by MLB pitchers in 2026, but a bad team would happily let that happen. He has huge raw power from both sides of the plate, and the tools to catch at the MLB level. It might take him three or four more years to put it all together, but he still has plenty of upside.

Toss Up

• Jake Miller (LHP)
• Trei Cruz (UTIL)
• R.J. Petit (RP)

Jake Miller was a breakout pitcher in the system in 2024, and he vaulted up our rankings this year. His raw stuff isn’t as impressive as his results, and he spent most of this year injured. But when he’s healthy he’s the kind of pitcher who could help the Tigers as either a starter or a reliever.

Trei Cruz had the best season of his professional career, and he does a lot of things the Tigers seem to like. He controls the strike zone, he plays all over the field, and he’s a switch hitter. But Cruz is already 27, and he’s a sum-of-his-parts player who doesn’t have any real standout tools. He would seemingly be a solid bench piece, but the Tigers may not want to spend another roster spot on a utility player.

R.J. Petit is a very large man with four legitimate pitches and an impressive 23-inning stint in Triple-A to end the year. He became something of a slider monster in Toledo, and that may be his path to the big leagues. But it’s hard to look at Petit and say he’s a clear upgrade over any of the other young relievers currently on the roster.

Our Guess: We think Miller is the most likely add, but we could see them keep all three of these guys. Or none of them.

Doesn’t Seem Likely

Peyton Graham (IF)
Marco Jimenez (RP)
Izaac Pacheco (IF)
Moises Rodriguez (RP)
Eduardo Valencia (1B/C)

We don’t think this is a hard and fast rule, but the Tigers have not added anyone from below Double-A under Scott Harris. And none of the above A-ball players feel like necessary adds. Both Graham and Pacheco rebuilt some prospect stock this year with terrific seasons in West Michigan, but it’s hard to imagine either sticking on an MLB roster.

Marco Jimenez and Moises Rodriguez both have big arms that are intriguing on the surface, but they don’t miss many bats, and they’d probably get demolished by MLB hitters. Jimenez will be heading into his age-26 season with zero pitches thrown above A-Ball. Rodriguez had a real breakout season in 2025, but he’s still essentially a 1.5-pitch pitcher. He also seems to have already re-signed a minor-league deal, which suggests the Tigers don’t intend to add him to their 40-man roster.

That’s also the case for Eduardo Valencia, who seemingly came from nowhere this year to post one of the best offensive seasons in the minors. If he were a better defensive catcher the Tigers would certainly protect him. But for now it seems his glove is iffy enough for the Tigers to risk losing him in the Rule 5 Draft.