Detroit Tigers lose Andy Dirks; extend qualifying offers to Max Scherzer and Victor Martinez

We mentioned earlier that the Joakim Soria option pickup likely signaled a wave of Detroit Tigers’ transactions and that is exactly what has happened.

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Perhaps the most notable news is losing left fielder Andy Dirks. One of the few left handed bats in the Tigers’ lineup, Dirks needed surgery for a lower back problem in March. While original timetables had him back in May, then June, he ended missing the entire 2014 season.

Apparently the Tigers were trying to move him to the minors through waivers but the Toronto Blue Jays nabbed him before that could happen.

Drafted by the club in the eighth round of the 2008 Draft, Dirks’ best season in Detroit was 2012 when he hit .322 in 88 games, posting a .857 OPS. A slightly above average defender, Dirks’ biggest problem was the inability to stay healthy. He missed time in both 2012 and 2013 before the injury in Spring Training 2014.

In addition to losing Dirks, the Tigers also lost relief pitcher Pat McCoy on waivers to the Baltimore Orioles.

Qualifying offers to Scherzer and V-Mart

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The Tigers made qualifying offers to their biggest free agents on the roster, Max Scherzer and Victor Martinez. It is almost certain neither player will sign the qualifying offer (it is reported that V-Mart said he will not accept a qualifying offer), but it guarantees the Tigers some protection should either or both sign elsewhere. The Tigers will be eligible for a draft pick per player and the signing team would forfeit theirs, unless the pick is in the top 10, in which case the Tigers would still receive a compensatory draft pick and the signing team would lose its next highest pick.

The team did not announce qualifying offers for Torii Hunter, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Coke, Joel Hanrahan, or Jim Johnson. It seems unlikely this will happen with any of these players, however the Tigers have until Monday at 5 p.m. to extend the offer.

Max and V-Mart have until Nov. 10 to accept the offer, but don’t hold your breath. According to ESPN, none of the 22 qualifying offers the past two seasons were accepted. This is a marked departure from last off-season when the Tigers extended qualifying offers to none of their free agents, a class that included Jhonny Peralta, Joaquin Benoit, and Omar Infante.

Activating injured players

Finally, the Tigers reinstated Jose Iglesias, Bruce Rondon, Luke Putkonen, and Drew VerHagen from the 60-day disabled list and added them to the 40-man roster.

Don Kelly and Evan Reed were outrighted to Toledo.