The Detroit Tigers announced that they would not tender contracts to relievers Al Alburquerque and Neftali Feliz on Wednesday. Both pitchers are now free agents, eligible to sign with any team, including the Tigers.
While ridding themselves of the underwhelming Feliz and his overwhelming $5.1 million projected salary was not a surprise, non-tendering Alburquerque was a bit of a shock. The 29-year-old Dominican righthander has been with the Tigers since 2011, and has accumulated 4.7 rWAR in five seasons. He has a 3.20 ERA with 276 strikeouts in 225 innings, and was only projected to earn $2.