The Tigers declined Dobnak's $6 million option for 2026, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
He'll be given a $1 million buyout instead. Dobnak's inclusion in the deadline trade that also sent Chris Paddack from the Twins to the Tigers was a way for Minnesota to offload additional salary. The 30-year-old is now a free agent after spending nearly all of 2025 at the Triple-A level, where he posted a 5.84 ERA over 18 starts and eight relief appearances.