Tigers confirm one final trade deadline failure with offseason contract decision

With the offseason underway and the Detroit Tigers looking to revamp their roster for the 2026 season, they declined Randy Dobnak’s $6 million club option on Tuesday. He will receive a $1 million buyout and head into free agency. 

Dobnak was included in the Chris Paddack deal at the trade deadline this year to clear salary space for the Twins. Earning $3 million this year, Dobnak only appeared in one game this season for the Twins, pitching 5 1/3 innings. The righty reliever never pitched for the Tigers and spent his time with the organization in Triple-A with the Mud Hens. In Triple-A, he posted a 3.79 ERA with a 1.40 WHIP and 35 strikeouts.

Dobnak has a short and quick arm delivery which he uses to surprise hitters. He also features a sinker, slider, changeup and four-seam pitch mix. It's unclear why the Tigers acquired him in the first place if they weren't comfortable with his future salaries.

In fact, he seemed quite fit for the culture in Detroit. The 30-year-old had an underdog story on his rise to the big leagues. He pitched for Alderson Broaddus University in Philippi, West Virginia, a small Division II school. He went undrafted and chose to play for the Utica Unicorns, an independent league team. In 2017, after six starts for the Unicorns, the Twins signed him to a minor league deal after not even seeing him pitch. In 2018, he spent the year in Single-A and in 2019 he climbed the minor league levels to Triple-A, earning the Twins’ minor league pitcher of the year award. In 2019, he also made nine regular season appearances and logged a 1.59 ERA. The success earned him a postseason roster spot - he made 10 appearances, including a start, in the ALDS. In 2021, he agreed to a five-year, $9.25 million extension. 

But after signing his extension, Dobnak wasn’t the same. He got injured, his numbers ballooned, and since then he has only pitched 15 big league innings. He has also struggled in the minors, so perhaps the Tigers didn't see enough during his time with the Mud Hens to be swayed.

So that really puts an exclamation point on Scott Harris' failed trade deadline. Not only was Paddack demoted from the rotation to the bullpen and then left off the team's postseason roster, the supplemental piece that came alongside him never made an official appearance with Detroit and likely won't be returning for 2026.

Hopefully this is the last of the after-effects of Harris' July transactions. Tigers fans need a blank slate with the final guaranteed year of Tarik Skubal on the horizon.