The Tigers Agreed to Pay Emilio Pagán About $11 Million. That Is Baseball’s Biggest Move With Three Weeks Until a Lockout.

Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1. Reporters across the sport expect the owners to lock the players out that night. Teams have about three weeks to sign free agents and make trades, and then the window shuts.

In the first ten days of the signing period, the sport has completed three major league free agent deals. Three.

The biggest is Emilio Pagan agreeing to a one-year contract with the Detroit Tigers. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported it Tuesday night in the $11 million range, and MLB.com’s Jason Beck put it at one year and $11 million. The Athletic reported $11.5 million. Detroit has not confirmed the deal, which is pending a physical.

The Other Two Are a Depth Starter and a Split Contract

San Diego signed Ryan Weiss, a 29-year-old right-hander who had a 7.62 ERA in nine appearances for Houston before being designated for assignment in June, to a one-year, $1.85 million deal with a club option for 2028. The Padres announced that one, so it is official.

Before that, the Mets re-signed 36-year-old Robert Stock on Nov. 7 to a one-year split contract.

That is the list. Everything else on the trackers is option decisions, qualifying offers and non-tenders.

The GMs Say They Are Not in a Hurry

This is the part that does not fit the narrative. Executives at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas spent the week telling reporters the deadline is not changing how they operate.

“I think we’re going about our business the way we normally do in the offseason,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. He allowed there is “maybe a little more urgency to get some things done earlier,” then added: “I don’t feel like anyone is up against the clock.”

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington: “For now, everything we do will be the same as it has been. I don’t think you can do things differently until there is actual change.”

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman: “I’m approaching business as usual here until told otherwise.”

Compare that to 2021, the last time a CBA ran out. Teams committed more than $1.9 billion before that lockout, including a single-day record of $1.4 billion on Dec. 1. Nothing resembling that has started.

Pagán Is a Real Signing, Though

The 35-year-old right-hander closed for Cincinnati the last two seasons and went 25-for-28 in save chances in 2026 with a 3.38 ERA over 45 games. The headline ERA undersells him. He missed roughly two months with a strained left hamstring, and from July 1 on he had a 1.88 ERA with 34 strikeouts and five walks in 28 2/3 innings, converting all 19 save chances.

He declined a $10 million player option with the Reds to get here, which means he bet on himself for about a million dollars. Fine bet.

Detroit needed him more than that math suggests. The 2026 Tigers set a franchise record for blown saves, per Sports Illustrated, which put the number at 31 against an old mark of 28. Their save conversion rate was 50.8 percent, second worst in the majors. Kenley Jansen saved 22 games and had his $12 million option declined.

Scott Harris, the Tigers’ president of baseball operations, laid out the list Tuesday in Las Vegas: “We want to add more swing-and-miss in the back end of our pen.”

The Best Player Available Is the One Detroit Traded

Detroit finished 76-86, fourth in the AL Central, and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2023. It also traded Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers in August.

Skubal now headlines this free agent class, a two-time Cy Young winner who went 12-7 with a 2.72 ERA and 186 strikeouts across both teams. MLB Trade Rumors predicts nine years and $425 million.

Agent Scott Boras held a news conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday and his phone rang mid-answer. “Just another owner begging to meet with Skubal,” he said.

Baseball’s position is simpler than his answers. Three weeks to go, three signings on the board, and the best pitcher on the market is unsigned while the league fights over a salary cap it has never had.

Carlos Garcia

A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.