The Tigers have agreed to a minor league contract with third baseman Casey McGehee, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). The 33-year-old McGehee is represented by Meister Sports Management.
There were rumblings earlier in the week about Detroit possibly signing another veteran infielder, and in McGehee, the Tigers have added depth at third base. The hot corner is arguably the team’s least-settled position given how former top prospect Nick Castellanos has delivered sub-replacement numbers both offensively and (especially) defensively over two full seasons in the bigs. Offseason acquisition Mike Aviles has the inside track on the utility infield job due to his ability to play all around the diamond, while Andrew Romine and Tommy Field are also in the mix for playing time.
McGehee won NL Comeback Player Of The Year honors in 2014 following a solid season with the Marlins, though that performance was somewhat checkered by a poor second half and an overall .335 BABIP. He was dealt to San Francisco last winter and was the Giants’ de facto replacement for Pablo Sandoval at third but McGehee struggled badly and eventually lost his job to Matt Duffy. He ended up re-signing with the Marlins after being designated for assignment in June, and overall, McGehee hit .198/.264/.274 with two homers over 258 plate appearances last season.
Don’t kid yourself, third base is very settled in Detroit. They are committed to Castellanos. But after having to waive, then trade Jefry Marte, they needed someone for organizational depth, and Casey McGehee fills that.
When McGehee played for the Giants he was terrible and got a lot of unfair treatment from the fans. I always hoped he would turn it around but he just never seemed to get going in the majors and when he did get something going in the minors he didn’t get a chance to keep that momentum going in the majors because Duffy was playing so well.
But I tell you this, McGehee is a class act. The way he handled the demotion to AAA and the way he handled Duffy taking his job was really professional and deserving of the utmost respect, way more than the fans gave him. I truly hope he does well in Detroit and get’s another comeback player award.
Agreed. While is was very happy when they cut him, he couldn’t have handled it any better.. Hearing Duffy’s praise for him after the fact made me respect McGehee that much more.
Two very well written comments from tigerdoc616 and Deke. Almost like a breath of fresh air…
He should go back to Japan where he was successful.