DETROIT — The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of a memorable World Series on Saturday night to win their second consecutive title.
That means the offseason officially starts today. Right now.
The Detroit Tigers are coming off their second consecutive playoff appearance after a nine-season postseason drought, so they were once again busy for the first part of October. The heightened expectations after back-to-back ALDS exits will add some new wrinkles to their offseason decision-making.
As always, the first moves will be general roster housekeeping: Clearing room on the 40-man roster to activate players from the 60-day injured list.
The first chance for in-person wheeling and dealing will come later this month at the General Manager Meetings in Las Vegas.
Here’s the complete offseason calendar, which will be updated as dates are added and finalized.
Nov. 2: Eligible players become free agents today but are not allowed to sign with any team other than their own for five days. The Tigers have six traditional free agents: second baseman Gleyber Torres; right-handed relievers Kyle Finnegan, Tommy Kahnle and Rafael Montero; and right-handed starting pitchers Chris Paddack and Alex Cobb.
Nov. 2: Rawlings Gold Glove winners announced at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN. Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler is a finalist.
Nov. 6: Five days after the World Series is a busy day on the calendar. The exclusive signing window comes to an end, which means players can now sign with any team. It’s also the deadline for making option and opt-out decisions.
For roster management purposes, it is the final day to reinstate players from the 60-day injured list. Eligible minor-league players will also become free agents at 5 p.m., which means some teams may choose to add one or more minor-leaguers to the 40-man roster to prevent their free agency.
Today is the final day for teams to extend a qualifying offer (a one-year contract worth about $22 million) to eligible free agents.
There should be clarity by today about the future of right-hander Jack Flaherty, who can opt out of his contract, forgoing the $20 million he is owed in 2026. The Tigers might then choose to tender him a qualifying offer.
It’s also possible, although less likely, that the Tigers tender a qualifying offer to Torres.
The other decision to watch will surround veteran right-hander Jose Urquidy, who returned from Tommy John surgery late in 2025. The Tigers hold a $4 million contract option for 2026.
The Tigers will buy out the contracts of right-handers Paul Sewald and Randy Dobnak for $1 million apiece.
Nov. 6-7: Silver Slugger Award winners announced.
Nov. 10-13: The annual General Manager Meetings are held in Las Vegas.
Nov. 10: BBWAA Rookie of the Year Awards announced.
Nov. 11: BBWAA Manager of the Year Awards announced.
Nov. 12: BBWAA Cy Young Awards announced. Tigers ace Tarik Skubal is the favorite to win his second consecutive honor, becoming the first back-to-back winner since Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets (2018-19).
Nov. 13: BBWAA MVP Awards announced.
Nov. 13: All-MLB Teams. The All-MLB First and Second Teams will be revealed as part of MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards, airing on MLB Network on Nov. 13. The winners of the Hank Aaron Award, the Comeback Players of the Year, the Mariano Rivera & Trevor Hoffman Relievers of the Year, the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter of the Year and the MLB Executive of the Year will also be announced during the show.
Nov. 18: Players who received qualifying offers must decide by today at 4 p.m. whether to accept them. If a player rejects a qualifying offer and signs elsewhere, his old team will receive a compensatory draft pick.
Nov. 18: Reserve lists must be finalized and submitted by this date. In other words, it’s the deadline to add a player to the 40-man roster to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft.
Nov. 21: The so-called non-tender deadline is today at 7 p.m.. It’s the final day to tender contracts to players under team control. All players with under six years of service time must be tendered a contract for 2025 or be “non-tendered” and allowed to become free agents.
Nov. 27: Thanksgiving
Dec. 7-10: The annual Winter Meetings will take place this week in Orlando.
The Hall of Fame’s Contemporary Baseball Era committee will announce its selections in Orlando. The group will be considering players who made their greatest contribution to baseball after 1980. The ballot of players they will consider has not yet been announced.
Dec. 9: The MLB draft lottery to determine the 2026 draft order will also take place in Orlando.
Dec. 10: The Rule 5 Draft concludes the Winter Meetings. This draft allows teams to select unprotected players from other clubs. The Tigers haven’t selected anyone since taking right-handed pitcher Mason Englert from the Texas Rangers in 2022.
Jan. 8, 2026: This is the final day for teams and players to exchange arbitration figures. While they can continue to negotiate after this date, not all teams are willing to do so. The figures will be locked in for a potential arbitration hearing sometime in February.
Jan. 15, 2026: The new international signing window opens. It runs through the middle of December, although many top prospects will sign immediately (having already agreed to deals unofficially).
Jan. 21, 2026: The results of the BBWAA balloting for the 2026 Hall of Fame class are announced.
About Feb. 11, 2026: Pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
About Feb. 15, 2026: First day for position players to report to spring training.
Late February, 2026: The Tigers open the Grapefruit League exhibition season in Lakeland, Fla.
March 25, 2026: The New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants open the regular season with a game at Oracle Park. The primetime game will be the only game of the day and will be streamed exclusively on Netflix.
March 26, 2026: The Tigers open the regular season at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres.
April 3, 2026: The Tigers play their home opener against the St. Louis Cardinals at Comerica Park.
July 14, 2026: MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia.
July 26, 2026: Induction ceremonies at Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
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