No surprises, Tigers offer contracts to all 9 arbitration-eligible players

Detroit – While teams across Major League Baseball unburdened themselves of significant lumps of salary Wednesday — albeit at the expense of significant talent — the Tigers offered contracts to all nine of their arbitration-eligible players.

What could end up costing them in excess of $20 million for the 2021 season, the Tigers extended offers to pitchers Matthew Boyd, Daniel Norris, Michael Fulmer, Buck Farmer, Joe Jimenez and Jose Cisnero, as well as first baseman Jeimer Candelario, utility man Niko Goodrum and center fielder JaCoby Jones.

Had the Tigers not offered them contracts by 8 p.m. Wednesday, those players — all expected to be key contributors in 2021 — would’ve become free agents.

The Tigers weren’t required to offer any contract terms to those players on Wednesday, just acknowledgment that they want them back for 2021. Those players are technically under team control. The club and players have until Jan. 15 to either work out a deal or submit salary figures to an arbitration panel.

According to industry estimates (MLBTradeRumors.com), Boyd could get between $5.5 and $6.2 million if he went to arbitration, Norris $3 million, Fulmer $2.8 million, Jones $2.2 million, Candelario $1.7 million, Goodrum $1.6 million, Farmer $1.4 million, Jimenez $1 million and Cisnero $900,000.

Around the league, some talented and more expensive players were non-tendered including some corner outfielders who might intrigue the Tigers. The Twins did not offer a contract to Eddie Rosario, the Cubs non-tendered slugger Kyle Schwarber and Albert Almora, Jr., and the Braves did not offer a contract to Adam Duvall.

The Royals cut loose power-hitting third baseman Maikel Franco. He hit three of his eight home runs and knocked in 10 runs in 10 games against the Tigers last season.

Those players, who stood to make between $6 and $10 million, can still sign back with their former clubs, of course.

Twitter @cmccosky