The Tigers on Thursday reached agreements on one-year deals for 2026 with a flurry of players to avoid arbitration.
Thursday marked the deadline for teams to exchange proposed salary figures with unsigned players that would be used in a potential arbitration hearing to determine their salary. Detroit announced it came to terms with seven players:
• OF Riley Greene: $5 million
• 1B Spencer Torkelson: $4.075 million
• OF Kerry Carpenter: $3.275 million
• RP Will Vest: $3.95 million
• UTIL Zach McKinstry: $4.2 million
• SP Casey Mize: $6.15 million
• LHP Tyler Holton: $1.575 million
The Tigers entered this offseason with a long list of arbitration-eligible players, including two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. The club did not come to terms with Skubal, which means they might need an arbitration hearing to determine his salary figure for the 2026 season.
A source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand that Skubal filed for $32 million, while the Tigers countered with $19 million. Skubal's figure would set a new record for the highest salary earned by a pitcher in arbitration. The current record is held by former Tigers lefty David Price, who earned $19.75 million in 2015, and the record for any player is $31 million by Juan Soto.
Greene is coming off a strong 2025 campaign in which he earned his second consecutive All-Star nod and his first Silver Slugger Award. He recorded an .806 OPS and logged career highs in homers (36) and RBIs (111). This marked the 25-year-old’s first year of arbitration eligibility. He’s under club control through 2028.
Torkelson (who’s also under club control through 2028) had a career year in his fourth big league campaign. Over 155 games, the 26-year-old slashed .240/.333/.456 (all of which were career highs) with 31 homers (tied for a career high), 78 RBIs and a 117 OPS+ (a career high).
Carpenter hit a career-high 26 homers this past season and slashed .252/.291/.497 over 130 games. He went on to hit two homers and log a .910 OPS over eight postseason games, both of which led Detroit. He, too, is under club control through 2028.
Vest and McKinstry are each under club control through 2027. Vest recorded a 3.01 ERA in 68 2/3 innings over 64 appearances. McKinstry earned his first All-Star nod and Silver Slugger Award while recording a .771 OPS and 113 OPS+ (both career highs) over 144 games. He appeared at every position but catcher and center field.
Mize earned his first All-Star selection while going 14-6 with a 3.87 ERA and a 3.89 FIP in 149 innings over 28 starts. The 2026 season is his final year of club control before he can become a free agent.
Holton recorded a 3.66 ERA over 70 appearances (including six starts as an opener) in 2025. He’s under club control through ‘28.
Detroit previously came to terms with outfielder Matt Vierling ($3,255,000), reliever Beau Brieske ($1,157,500) and catcher Jake Rogers ($3,050,000) in November to avoid arbitration.