Right-hander Randy Dobnak’s brief Tigers tenure is coming to an end. The Tigers are declining their $6 million option on the former Twins starter and USPBL product, instead buying out the remainder of his contract for $1 million, a source told MLB.com. He will become a free agent once the move is made official.
The Tigers have not yet officially announced the move, which had been expected ever since they acquired Dobnak at the Trade Deadline as part of the Chris Paddack trade. The Detroit Free Press first reported the move.
Dobnak, who became a Twins success story with an impressive late-season stint in 2019, signed a five-year, $9.25 million contract with the Twins after the 2020 season that included team options for 2026, 2027 and 2028. He made $3 million this season in the final guaranteed year of the contract but made only one MLB appearance, tossing 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball in long relief for the Twins on March 30. He pitched in just six games for the Twins over the last four years, missing much of 2021 and 2022 due to ruptured ligaments in his right middle finger, an injury that left him struggling to replicate the sinker that was so successful for him early in his career.
Following the trade, Dobnak finished the season at Triple-A Toledo, where he went 1-1 with a 3.79 ERA in eight starts and a relief appearance. He allowed 17 runs (16 earned) on 37 hits over 38 innings, with 16 walks and 35 strikeouts.
The Twins had signed Dobnak as an undrafted free agent in 2017 following a strong stint in the Michigan-based United Shore Professional Baseball League. The Pittsburgh-area native and Alderson Broaddus University product went 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA in six starts for the Utica Unicorns, becoming one of the league’s early success stories. He was the first USPBL alumnus to play in the Majors, a path later followed by Logan Gillespie with the Orioles and Jared Koenig with the Athletics.
Dobnak, who will turn 31 in January, has just over three years of Major League service time but will be a free agent, since he’s not on Detroit’s 40-man roster.