The Detroit Tigers entered the offseason with one of their more productive players set to hit free agency, but they made an effort to potentially retain him or recoup value before he officially becomes available.

When the Tigers extended a qualifying offer to star second baseman Gleyber Torres, it was the first one they offered since 2014 in a rare move from the organization. With the QO worth roughly $22 million, clearly Detroit is willing to pay up — at least in the short term — to keep Torres around.

Of course, the other big benefit with the qualifying offer is securing a draft pick should Torres wind up taking a deal elsewhere. However, you of course have to value the player enough to be willing to pay what winds up being the average of the league’s 125 highest salaries.

For Torres, a report last week indicated he was actually considering doing what is very rare and accepting the QO, and a new report on Monday on his long-term deal demands could explain why.

Torres Reportedly Searching for Four-Year Contract

According to a story on Monday from Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press (subscription required), Torres is “believed to be seeking at least a four-year contract” in free agency as he scans his market while considering the QO from the Tigers.

Torres had a very solid season from Detroit, but certainly not one to where he will come anywhere near an AAV of $22 million over four years. The number which seems to be more commonly thrown around is $15 million, obviously significantly less per year than he’s being offered on the QO.

It does not seem like Detroit is very inclined to offer Torres the kind of long-term deal he’s seeking, so he will have to consider whether or not the season he turned in is going to be his best ahead of hitting the open market.

After signing in the Motor City on a one-year deal last winter, the hope from the Torres camp was to hit free agency and cash in. Now that the time has come, it seems there’s a discrepancy between the numbers he wants and the numbers he’s being offered.

Tigers Saw Productive Season from Torres, But Was It Enough?

Torres posted a 2.9 bWAR over 145 games with a slash line of .256/.358/.387, clubbing 16 home runs and collecting 74 RBI while battling some injury problems especially early in the year. Though these numbers are solid and clearly why Detroit is willing to sign on for one more year, they weren’t enough for him to come near a nine-figure deal.

Now, the Tigers may very well get him back on a more lucrative one-year deal, and even if they don’t, it will be a draft pick coming their way instead.

For Torres, it’s quite the decision, but it does not seem like he is getting the kind of commotion he had hoped for in free agency. This could lead to him being back manning the keystone in Detroit.