The Detroit Tigers have signed outfielder Justin Upton to a six-year deal, according to Bob Nightengale of the USA Today.
The deal will become official when Upton passes a physical. According to Ken Rosenthal, he will be getting $132.75 million over those six years with an opt out after two years.
The Tigers reportedly weren’t planning to sign another big name free agent because of their financial flexibility, but they apparently had a change of heart and decided to land a big name in Upton.
According to the report, manager Brad Ausmus along with general manager Al Avila flew out to Phoenix last Friday to meet with Upton and the deal was ultimately agreed to Monday.
A one-year deal at one point not too long ago seemed like the most likely scenario for Upton, but he was not looking for a deal that short and eventually landed with the Tigers on a long term deal. He was looking for something around $23 million, which is what Jason Heyward got.
Upton has played his entire nine year career in the National League, but will now take his talents to the American League. His numbers versus AL pitching are fairly good as well. with an OPS of .780, 16 HR, 59 RBI, 54 BB, 130 SO, 134 G, 560 PA. In total, Upton is a .271 career hitter.
Upton now joins a stacked right handed Tigers lineup with the likes of J.D. Martinez and Miguel Cabrera, just to name a few. He will most likely be the opening day starting left fielder.
Owner Mike Illitch wants to get back to the postseason after a one year hiatus and will be surpassing the luxury tax threshold for the first time in franchise history.
Leave a Reply