The Detroit Tigers won’t be signing any of this year’s elite class of free agent players during the winter, and not just because they’re in rebuilding mode. Under the terms of Major League Baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), Detroit would pay a very steep penalty should they sign a premium free agent.
In fact, the changes in the new CBA probably hurt the Tigers more than any other club because of these new rules.
Reduced compensation when losing qualified free agents
The Tigers would have been prohibited from making a qualifying offer to Justin Upton if he had opted out of his contract following the 2017 season.