Interesting twist here.
He'll be on the 40-man roster every year until 2021 unless he reaches a retirement settlement with the Rangers. That's actually kind of a big deal and an incentive to do a settlement. I wonder what leverage the Tigers now have to get some relief from the money owed in exchange for the roster spot, otherwise I wouldn't agree to any settlement.
I'm sure the money owed will simply be spread out over a course of years a la Bobby Bonilla, but I'm still super intrigued by this.