Exercising Options: Detroit Tigers

As the Detroit Tigers do battle with the Chicago White Sox for who wants the AL Central the least, they also have a few decisions to make on the contract option front. Two players--reliever Octavio Dotel and shortstop Jhonny Peralta--have club options for the 2013 season:

• Octavio Dotel - $3.5 million option, $500k buyout
• Jhonny Peralta - $6.0 million option, $500k buyout

Signed to a one-year, $3.0 million deal in the offseason, the 38-year-old Dotel has lived up to--and likely exceeded--the value of his contract this season. In fifty-five innings on the year, the veteran right-hander owns a 3.76 ERA, 10.1 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9, good for an even 1.0 bWAR. In his first full-season with a single club since 2009, Dotel has been used in both high and low leverage situations, finding success in both. If the Tigers believe Dotel can replicate his success next season, picking up the veteran's option should be a no-brainer.

Peralta is coming to the end of a two-year, $11.5 million contract that looked great last season but has looked much less so this year. The 30-year-old shortstop had a resurgent year in 2011, hitting .299/.345/.478 with twenty-one home runs on the season. Peralta has regressed severely this season, however, dropping over thirty points in OPS+ and losing his power stroke almost entirely. The Tigers may try to look for shortstop help in the offseason, but with a small shortstop market and no real in-house options, taking a flyer on Peralta would not be the worst thing in the world.