Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals - September 9

Max Scherzer rejected a qualifying offer from the Detroit Tigers.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

As expected, the Detroit Tigers made qualifying offers to Max Scherzer and Victor Martinez.

As expected, both players rejected them.

The deadline of 5 p.m. today passed without either Scherzer or Martinez accepting their qualifying offer from the Tigers.

The Tigers can still sign either or both of the free agents, but since they made qualifying offers that were rejected they will receive a draft pick or draft picks as compensation if either or both sign elsewhere.

A player who accepts a qualifying offer this offseason would get a one-year contract worth $15.3 million for the 2015 season. Both Scherzer and Martinez will draw plenty of interest in free agency and are certain to receive large, multi-year contracts. Therefore, the fact that the Tigers made qualifying offers and that the players rejected them were necessary technicalities on the part of both parties.

There have not been many rumors involving Scherzer, who is not expected to return to the Tigers. The Tigers offered him a six-year deal reportedly worth $144 million during spring training. Scherzer turned down that offer. The Tigers appeared to protect themselves for the 2015 season should Scherzer leave when they traded for David Price.

Scherzer went 18-5 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.175 WHIP in 33 starts for the Tigers in 2014 one year after winning the American League Cy Young Award.

The Tigers are expected to be among a number of teams bidding for Martinez's services this offseason. Martinez, one of the top three vote getters in the AL Most Valuable Player voting, hit .335 with 32 home runs and 103 RBIs in 2014 for the Tigers. He led the majors with a .974 OPS and led the American League with a .409 on-base percentage.

If Martinez signs elsewhere, it would leave a major hole in the Tigers' lineup, but he has plenty of options. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported Monday that the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners are in the mix for Martinez, who is also expected to draw interest from the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians.

Twelve players received qualifying offers last week prior to the deadline. The amount of the qualifying offer is set each year at the average salary of the 125 highest paid players in the majors.

Prior to this year, none of the 22 players who received qualifying offers accepted them.

Hunter drawing interest

In other free agent news, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Monday that outfielder Torii Hunter has drawn interest from 10 teams.

That report is consistent with an MLive story last week that cited a source saying Hunter had drawn interest from several teams but hadn't yet spoken with the Tigers, which is his first choice.

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