The Detroit Tigers entered the 2025 season with an opening day payroll of $145,318,033 (17), according to Cot’s Contracts. By season’s end, that number was up to $161.4 million, which ranked 16th in the major
leagues out of 30 teams. Those numbers were up significantly from opening day, 2024, when the club had an Opening Day total of just over $101 million, 26th in the majors.
Most of the approximately $16 million increase during the season is due to trade deadline acquisitions, as well as a few other moves to plug holes in the roster along the way.
The Tigers had few free agents to be concerned about after the 2024 season, as they traded away just about every player who wasn’t nailed down before they launched their improbable surge to the playoffs late in the season. This winter promises to be a bit different.
FREE AGENT PLAYERS
- Alex Cobb, signed a one year $15 million contract and spent the entire season on the injured list. That experiment is over. As it turned out it was over before it began.
- Kenta Maeda had a salary of $10 million and was released in May. He’s off the books.
- Gleyber Torres also had a one year contract for $15 million and he will probably get paid as a free agent. Whether it’s by Detroit or another club is to be determined, but for now, that’s $40 million off the payroll for three players.
- Tommy Kahnle is the other highly priced free agent, signed for one year at $7.5 million. Surely the club will try to do better with those funds.
- John Brebbia was signed as a free agent and released in June, picked up by the Braves. Detroit’s share is $2.7M, and he is obviously off the books.
- Manuel Margot was released by Milwaukee in March, signed by Detroit for $1.3 million when a rash of injuries hit the Tigers as the season was about to start, then was injured himself for the season. He is now a free agent. I would heavily bet the under on his return.
- Jose Urquidy was signed for $1 million, pitched just 2.1 innings this season, and has a club option for $4 million for 2026.
So that’s $52.5 million coming off the payroll before any of the in season additions are considered.
LATE SEASON ACQUISITIONS
These players were acquired during the season, mostly at the trade deadline in July, and all of them happen to be pending free agents. Some are already gone, and the rest will free up roster spots as they hit free agency.
- Charlie Morton was paid a pro rated share equal to $4.75 million and he was let go.
- Chris Paddack’s pro rated share of his $12.5 million contract is $2.5 million from Detroit
- Paul Sewald had a $7 million contract with Cleveland, and the Tigers picked him up for a pro rated share of $1.9 million with Detroit. He has a $10 million mutual option for 2026 with a $1 million buyout. Adios!
- Luke Jackson was acquired at the end of July but released after just two appearances. We saw him pitching for Seattle in the post season. His salary has an inconsequential impact on the Tigers’ payroll.
Those players are either gone or likely to be gone, cutting $9.15 million from the Tigers’ bottom line payroll.
The Tigers also acquired Rafael Montero at a cost of $3.7 million as part of an $11.5 million salary, and Kyle Finnegan at a cost of $1.7 million, which is a pro rated share of $6 million. The club may like to have either or both of those pitchers back for 2026. Finnegan has expressed an interest in returning and is obviously the far more appealing of the two. The Tigers paid those two players $5.4 million for a partial season of work, but keeping Finnegan at least would take more than that on a multi year contract.
The subtotal of all the above named free agent players comes to about $65 million, leaving the projected payroll back under $100 million before any options, arbitration increases, or other off season acquisitions.
OPTIONS:
There are just three options to be concerned about, one being the club option on Urquidy, the second being Sewald’s mutual option, and the other is Jack Flaherty’s player option for $20 million which will have a significant impact on the payroll and the starting rotation.
Flaherty has the right to opt out of his contract after the world series. The salary option went from $10 million to $20 million when he reached 15 starts, a feat which he accomplished on June 20, 2025. He will be 30 years old on October 15. While $20 million is a nice salary, he may opt out to look for a multi year deal.
ARBITRATION SALARY INCREASES:
The Tigers have a large class of 15 players who will be eligible for arbitration. That’s like half a roster! This is what happens when you’re building a young team and don’t manage to win a title in the early years. Decisions start to become significantly more difficult unless payroll continues to climb at the same pace.
The head of the class is Tarik Skubal, the likely two time Cy Young winner who earned $10.15 million in 2025 and could double that in his final season of arbitration eligibility.
Three other players enter their final season of arbitration. Casey Mize earned $2.34 million in 2025, and Jake Rogers had a salary of $2.64 million. Tanner Rainey is just five days shy of six years service time (5.167), so he has one final spin on the arbitration dial assuming the Tigers decide to retain his services for 2026.
Six players will be arbitration eligible for the second time.
- Matt Vierling earned $3.0 million in 2025
- Zack McKinstry earned $1.64 million
- Andy Ibanez made $1.4 million
- Will Vest earned $1.4 million
- Jason Foley earned $3.15 million after spending much of the 2024 season as the Tigers’ closer. He spent most of 2025 in the minor leagues, and the club is not about to give him a guaranteed major league deal, so unless he agrees to a split contract, he is a candidate to be non tendered.
- Beau Brieske also spent almost the whole season in the minors, but since he was already eligible, he will be eligible again. His salary wouldn’t be much more than the same $1.025 million if he makes the team.
Four more players will be arbitration eligible for the first time.
- Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Tyler Holton, and Kerry Carpenter have now accrued over three years of service time. Each earned just above the major league minimum salary last season and they are now due for a nice raise, as they are all key parts of the major league roster. Estimate the increase for the four players to be in the range of $10 million total.
- Reese Olson has logged 2 years and 123 days of service, but that seems likely to fall short of the amount needed for super two status. Probably he won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2027 season.
Alex Lange missed out on arbitration in 2025 although he met the super two service time criteria, because he did not spend 86 days in the major leagues the prior season. In 2025, he pitched just one inning in the major leagues, but an early season injury interrupted a demotion and he managed to accrue another year of service time in the IL.
MLB Trade rumors has published their annual list of projected salary arbitration numbers. The Tigers have 15 players on the list.
So, if these numbers are on target, and all the players return, the large class of arbitration eligible players will cost a little over $30 million more than they did in 2025.
MINIMUM SALARIED PLAYERS
About a dozen players on the major league roster will be earning at or just above the major league minimum salary, which will increase to $780,000, up from $760,000 in 2025.
TOTAL PAYROLL
The Tigers’ 2026 payroll, as of now, depends on how you calculate it, and what’s included. Cot’s contracts puts the number for the opening day payroll at $104,174,133, but that puts Flaherty at $10M, which we know is low if he opts in and high if he leaves. It also assumes no players will be non tendered, no eligible free agents will be re-signed, and is before any outside additions from free agency or traded.
But you get the idea. The team has a projected payroll in the $100-110 million range for the 26 man roster, and there is plenty of room to add to that. Even without an increase in spending, the Tigers should have $50-60 million available in payroll to try and re-tool the roster this offseason.
