FAQ: What to know about Tigers' offseason

This story was excerpted from Jason Beck's Tigers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Tigers’ incredible late-season run to the playoffs not only extended their season by a couple of weeks, it also heightened the anticipation for a potentially busy offseason.

The offseason officially kicked off with the Dodgers’ World Series clinch on Wednesday. Eligible players became free agents, though they’re only allowed to negotiate with their previous team during this five-day “quiet period,” and the trade freeze on Major League players was lifted.

Expect plenty of words on the Tigers’ offseason in the days and weeks ahead. Here’s a primer to get you started:

What are the key dates?

Nov. 3: Last date to request waivers on Draft-excluded players until next spring.

Nov. 4: Deadline for teams and players to make decisions on contract options, for clubs to reinstate all players on the 60-day injured list (including Javier Báez, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Alex Faedo and Brendan White) and to tender qualifying offers. Also, the “quiet period” ends and Major League free agents are free to sign with any club as of 5 p.m. ET. Minor League players become free agents at 5 p.m. ET, if applicable.

Nov. 4-7: GM Meetings in San Antonio, Texas. This is where groundwork is often laid on trades and free-agent signings.

Nov. 19: The deadline to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft is 6 p.m. ET.

Nov. 22: Tender deadline. By 8 p.m. ET, teams must formally tender contracts to unsigned players for the following season, including their arbitration-eligible players. If a player is non-tendered, they immediately become a free agent.

Dec. 9-11: Winter Meetings in Dallas, including the MLB Draft Lottery (Tigers aren’t eligible this year as a playoff team) on Dec. 10 and the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 11.

Dec. 15: End of the 2024 international signing period.

Jan. 10, 2025: Eligible players and their teams exchange arbitration figures.

Jan. 15, 2025: Start of the new international signing period.

Which Tigers are free agents?

Thanks to an active Trade Deadline, nobody on the Tigers’ 40-man roster is eligible for free agency. However, some could be outrighted and become free agents once Detroit sorts out the roster in the coming days, including reinstating injured players from the 60-day injured list.

Which Tigers have contract options?

Detroit holds a $3.1 million option on right-hander Casey Mize, and the team is likely to buy it out for $10,000. If that happens, Mize will remain under club control, but he will be eligible for arbitration. The two sides were on the verge of going to a hearing last offseason before settling on a one-year deal that included the club option.

Who’s eligible for arbitration?

• RHP Beau Brieske (Super Two)
• RHP Jason Foley (first-time eligible)
• IF Andy Ibáñez (Super Two)
• IF/OF Zach McKinstry (first-time eligible)
• RHP Casey Mize (second-time eligible if Tigers decline contract option)
• C Jake Rogers (second-time eligible)
• LHP Tarik Skubal (second-time eligible)
• RHP Will Vest (first-time eligible)
• 3B/OF Matt Vierling (first-time eligible)

Who might be a non-tender candidate?

McKinstry is out of Minor League options, but his versatility and skill set proved crucial late in the season once Báez underwent hip surgery. McKinstry could get crowded out of a utility role if the Tigers sign another infielder to bolster their offense, but Detroit values his ability to provide quality defense at several spots. Since arbitration salaries are partially guaranteed through Spring Training, the Tigers could bring McKinstry to camp and see how he fits.

Who needs to be added to the 40-man roster this winter to avoid the Rule 5 Draft?

Among ranked prospects, there’s right-handers Joseph Montalvo (No. 16) and Lael Lockhart (No. 26), outfielders Justice Bigbie (No. 21) and Roberto Campos (No. 25) and infielder/outfielder Gage Workman (No. 30).

Among unranked prospects are a slew of pitchers, including 2021 Draft picks Dylan Smith, RJ Petit, Tanner Kohlhepp and Tyler Mattison (who missed this past season while recovering from Tommy John surgery). Recent trade acquisition and relief prospect Chase Lee is also Rule 5 eligible. So, too, is utilityman Andrew Navigato, who posted a 21-homer, 22-steal season for Triple-A Toledo. Catcher Liam Hicks -- who was on Detroit’s taxi squad for the postseason after being acquired from the Rangers in the Carson Kelly trade -- is also eligible.

What will the Tigers try to do this offseason?

President of baseball operations Scott Harris laid out two priorities at his end-of-season press conference last month: Right-handed hitting and additional pitching. Detroit’s lineup skewed left-handed after all of the mid- to late-season promotions from Triple-A Toledo, and the team’s positional flexibility allows Harris to get creative with finding a bat or two.

The pitching need is obvious after the Tigers loaded up on bullpen games and openers down the stretch following the Jack Flaherty trade and Kenta Maeda’s move to the bullpen.

Will the Tigers be active in free agency?

That’s the expectation, and Harris is embracing it.

“If there’s a talented player we have conviction on, that fits how we play and fits our clubhouse, and he costs money, we're going to pursue them aggressively,” Harris said at season’s end. “If we find a talent we have conviction on, that fits how we play and fits our clubhouse that costs prospects, we've done a lot of work to restock our farm system and should have the prospects to be able to make a trade like that.

“And if we find a situation where a player … we have conviction on, fits how we play [and] costs both money and prospects, well, we're prepared to do that, too.”

The Tigers have played in the free-agent market since Harris took over two years ago, particularly on the pitching side with Flaherty, Maeda, Andrew Chafin, Shelby Miller and Michael Lorenzen. But Maeda was the only player in that group to get a multiyear contract. With the Tigers coming off a playoff berth with a young roster, Harris could shop at the higher end of the market with an eye towards longer-term offers.

Whom might the Tigers be willing to trade?

After years of accumulating young talent, Detroit could start using its stockpile of prospects as currency on the trade market.

If the Tigers decide that Jace Jung (No. 5 prospect) isn’t the long-term answer at third base, he could be valuable for a team that sees him as an answer at second, his natural position. If Detroit sees a surplus of pitching on the horizon with the arrival of Brant Hurter and Ty Madden (No. 14), the team could try to leverage that on a market that values controllable pitching.

At this point, even Rule 5-eligible prospects who are tough calls for 40-man roster spots could provide an opportunity.