By Jason Beck

In a move you could see coming, the Tigers closed out Brad Thomas’ rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo and outrighted his contract there, taking the lefty reliever off the 40-man roster.

Thomas has enough service time that he can decline the assignment and become a free agent if he wants, and he has 72 hours to do so. If he does that, however, he forfeits the rest of his Major League contract with Detroit (he signed for a reported $800,000, so he has just under $400,000 coming to him). He’d be taking a chance he can get a better deal somewhere else. He could pitch in Japan or Korea, closer to his home in Australia, but it’s pretty late in the season over there to find a deal.