Kevin McGonigle contract, how it ranks among Tigers' biggest deals

Rookie Kevin McGonigle’s eight-year deal agreed to on Wednesday , April 15, is just the eighth contract worth at least $100 million handed out by the Detroit Tigers in either free agency or as an extension. The deals, and the seasons they started in: 2016 – 1B Miguel Cabrera: $248 million, 8 years The buzz: This extension was signed in March 2014, ahead of a 52-homer season from Cabrera, but didn’t kick in till 2016. Miggy played the full contract, reaching Hall of Fame milestones in homers (511) and hits (3,174), but his 2016-23 stretch, plagued by injuries, was easily the worst of his career.

[ Kevin McGonigle might be an all-timer. His contract is a steal for Tigers ] 2014 – 1B Prince Fielder: $214 million, 9 years The buzz: Fielder, signed as a free agent when DH Victor Martinez suffered an offseason leg injury, lasted just two years in Detroit – hitting . 295 with 55 homers and 214 RBIs in 324 games – before the Tigers shipped him to the Texas Rangers.

Fielder only lasted five years on this deal, retiring after his age-32 season with neck issues. 2016 – RHP Justin Verlander: $180 million, 7 years The buzz: JV won two AL Cy Young awards (and finished second in another season), threw a third no-hitter and won two World Series … but he did all of that with the Houston Astros, after the Tigers traded him away in the second season of this extension. 2027 – SS Kevin McGonigle, $150 million, 8 years The buzz: The deal carries an average annual value of $18.

75 million, which would make him the 13 th highest-paid shortstop in MLB – just ahead of fellow rookie Konnor Griffin, who signed a nine-year, $140 million contract earlier this month. 2022 – SS Javier Báez: $140 million, 6 years The buzz: This deal has been underwater almost from the moment it was signed, as Báez was one of the worst hitters in baseball over his first three seasons of the contract. Last year, however, he made the All-Star Game as a center fielder, and he’s hitting .