The Detroit Tigers had plenty of options this offseason. Teams around baseball were probably hoping they’d go full rebuild mode, with a Tarik Skubal trade serving as the opening salvo.
Instead, Detroit kept their ace and decided to go for it. They brought back key pieces and added talent, positioning themselves as legitimate World Series contenders.
That plan hasn’t worked out.
Now the Tigers might be sellers at the deadline, and according to Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report, their biggest offseason mistake wasn’t keeping Skubal – it was extending a qualifying offer to Gleyber Torres.
“Offseason Regret: Extending qualifying offer to Gleyber Torres,” Miller writes. “But if they had known in November that Kevin McGonigle would be as good as fast as he has been in the majors, there’s no way they would’ve offered Gleyber Torres $22.025M to stick around for another year, right?”
The Tigers made the same mistake the New York Yankees did with Trent Grisham. Both teams are regretting those decisions now.
Detroit extended the $22.025 million qualifying offer to Torres because they feared he’d sign a long-term deal elsewhere. Apparently the market wasn’t what Torres expected, so he took the one-year deal and came back.
The Yankees did the exact same thing with Grisham, who also accepted his qualifying offer. Both teams would’ve been better off letting these guys walk.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Both players have dealt with injuries this season, though Torres’ situation has been much worse. When they have been on the field, neither has justified that price tag.
Torres is posting a .717 OPS this season, while Grisham sits at .682. They’re not terrible players, but neither is remotely worth $22 million.
What makes this sting for Detroit is Kevin McGonigle’s emergence. The Tigers have him and other young infielders ready to contribute. Similarly, the Yankees have Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones developing in the minors.
Both teams could’ve turned to their prospects instead of committing big money to struggling veterans.
Torres has already missed 20 games this season, making his disappointing performance even more costly for the Tigers. Miller identified both moves as the teams’ top offseason regrets, and it’s easy to see why.
Sometimes the best move is the one you don’t make. Both Detroit and New York learned that lesson the hard way this year.
