The Tigers announced Wednesday that they’ve agreed to an eight-year, $150MM extension with infielder Kevin McGonigle. The contract begins next season — he’s still on a league-minimum salary in 2026 — and runs through 2034. McGonigle, a client of Vayner Sports, can tack on another $10MM in total via a series of escalators, giving the deal a maximum value of $160MM from 2027-34. Detroit, one of the few teams that publicly discloses contract terms for its players, also provided a year-to-year breakdown of the deal.
McGonigle, 21, takes home a $14MM signing bonus that will be paid up front. He’ll earn a $1MM salary in 2027, $7MM in 2028, $16MM in 2029, $21MM in 2030, $22MM in 2031 and $23MM annually from 2032-34.
The contract locks in what would have been the second through sixth years of McGonigle’s original window of club control and gives the team control over what would have been his first three free agent seasons. There are no options on the contract, but escalators could raise his 2032-34 salaries to $25MM, $26MM and $28MM, respectively. McGonigle’s deal does not include conventional no-trade protection, but he’d be owed a $5MM assignment bonus if he’s traded to another club at any point.
It’s a bit of a departure from the standard way that teams tend to structure contracts; year-to-year salaries tend to reflect what a player might have earned in pre-arbitration and in arbitration. Instead, the Tigers will jump McGonigle to a $7MM salary in a year that he’d otherwise have been earning only a hair over the league minimum. This setup provides a little more balance on the back end of the deal (i.e. his would-be free agent seasons), obviously at the expense of some payroll hikes in the extension’s earlier seasons.
McGonigle entered the season as the game’s consensus No. 2 prospect behind Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin and has now almost immediately surpassed Griffin’s record-setting extension for a young player with such little big league service. Griffin inked a nine-year, $140MM contract last week. Julio Rodríguez‘s $210MM contract is technically the largest ever for a player with under a year of service, but that contract was signed in late July of his rookie season, when he was already an All-Star and the overwhelming Rookie of the Year front-runner. Griffin and McGonigle may be in the same service class, but the context surrounding their extensions differs quite a bit from that of the Rodríguez deal.
Selected 37th overall in the 2023 draft, McGonigle hit the ground running as an 18-year-old in pro ball. He slashed .315/.452/.411 in 21 games following the draft in 2023 and emphatically rose to elite prospect status in the two subsequent seasons. McGonigle hit .309/.401/.452 with more walks than strikeouts as a 19-year-old across to Class-A levels in 2024. Last year, he utterly dismantled High-A pitching (.372/.462/.648) for 36 games before a promotion to Double-A, where he scarcely skipped a beat. McGonigle was one of the youngest players in Double-A but still turned in a .254/.369/.550 slash in 46 games.
Throughout the offseason, it wasn’t clear whether McGonigle would be seriously considered as an Opening Day roster candidate or whether the organization would send him to Triple-A for some further refinement. A strong spring performance quickly removed any doubt, however. McGonigle hit .250/.411/.477 in 56 plate appearances. As he’d done at virtually every stop in the minors, he walked more often than he struck out. The Tigers carried him on the Opening Day roster to begin the season, and he’s split the first few weeks of the year between third base and shortstop while slashing .311/.417/.492 with 11 walks against just eight strikeouts in 72 plate appearances.
One look at McGonigle’s repeated ability to not only avoid strikeouts but also draw walks at such a high rate highlights why he has such a high floor. Add in above-average speed and plus raw power that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from someone listed at 5’9″ and 187 pounds, and McGonigle has the makings of a perennial All-Star who could draw some MVP consideration during his peak years.
Scouting reports have questioned where his eventual defensive home will be, but he’s worked to improve his shortstop defense and looked solid there both in spring training and in the season’s first few weeks. Whether he settles in at short, third base or even second base, McGonigle’s preternatural feel to hit and robust suite of plus offensive tools should give him more than enough bat to fit anywhere on the diamond.
As is the case with any early-career extension, McGonigle had a path to greater earnings — but going the year-to-year route would have been fraught with risk. He could have reached the open market heading into his age-27 season, potentially setting him up for a contract worth more than half a billion dollars in free agency. However, locking in his first $150MM right now preserves the opportunity to reach the market ahead of McGonigle’s age-30 season, when he could still be in line for a mega-deal. It also eliminates much of the downside of a career-altering injury or a less-impactful-than-expected career trajectory. There are myriad examples of players who rebuffed early extension interest and then simply never lived up to their prospect billing — or of those who accepted long-term offers and never developed into stars or even established big leaguers.
McGonigle now cements his place as the face of a new Tigers core. The team surely hopes it will be able to re-sign reigning two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal in free agency, but that’ll take a record contract of far greater magnitude, given Skubal’s established dominance and proximity to free agency, which he’ll reach following the current season. McGonigle and fellow infielder Colt Keith are now signed through at least 2032, but recent free agent signee Framber Valdez is the only other Tiger guaranteed anything beyond the 2027 season.
Top outfield prospect Max Clark, the No. 3 overall pick in 2023 (34 spots ahead of McGonigle) is also widely considered to be one of the sport’s 10 best prospects and could debut later this season. Looking further down the road, Detroit has some other ballyhooed prospects they’ll hope to add to the group (e.g. shortstop Bryce Rainer, catcher/first baseman Josue Briceño), but they’re probably more 2027-28 considerations.
The timing of McGonigle’s promotion to the majors and extension is also pivotal for the Tigers. Because he’s a consensus top-100 prospect who cracked the Opening Day roster and signed his deal after his MLB debut was already in the books, McGonigle remains eligible to net the Tigers a compensatory draft pick via MLB’s “Prospect Promotion Incentive” program, which was introduced in the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement.
If McGonigle wins AL Rookie of the Year honors this season or finishes top-3 in AL MVP voting before he would have otherwise reached arbitration, the Tigers will gain an extra pick after the first round of the following season’s draft. For instance, the Royals picked up the No. 28 overall selection in 2025 after Bobby Witt Jr. was an MVP finalist in the preceding season. The Braves (No. 26) and Astros (No. 28) will have bonus picks in the 2026 draft due to Drake Baldwin‘s 2025 Rookie of the Year win and Hunter Brown‘s third-place finish in 2025 AL Cy Young voting.
Great news! Great time to be a Tigers fan. Lots of young, controllable talent. Now go lock up Skubal!
I don’t think they can lock up Skubal. It would surprise me if that happened though.
Skubal probably walks… but it might be a good time to extend Casey Mize. Maybe even offer Jack Flaherty a decent contract. They both are doing decent. 25 mil a year for 4 years ? A little better than what Michael King got.
For who, Mize? Seems like an overpay, Mize probably can’t get 25 million for four years.
Flaherty had a rough 2025, so that may make teams back off.
I could see Mize getting a three year, 60M contract. It depends on whether he can repeat last year’s numbers.
I think they did this precisely because they know they are losing Skubal.
Probably not. It’s more likely that Detroit doesn’t want to make the same mistake with McGonigle that they made with Skubal (waiting too long to sign him and finding that he is suddenly out of their price range).
It didn’t fully click for Skubal until a couple of seasons ago when he suddenly got healthy. I won’t fault Detroit *too much* for letting him slip through without an extension since pitchers, especially historically injury prone ones, are very risky to sign even if he’s a back-to-back Cy Young winner.
The Tigers are getting Skubal’s best years, and his next team will overpay for whatever he has left in the tank
This is true, up to a point. But offering Skubal 80M for four years after the 2024 season was insulting and stupid.
Snell?
It was a low ball offer, but you have to look at what he did leading up to that breakout. He never threw 150 IP until 2024, and the one other “full” season he had then, back in 2021, he pitched like a #4/5 at best. He averaged about 1.5-2 WAR per season before 2024 while gutting through some nagging injuries, which isn’t someone you should just hand $35M or more per year to just on one breakout year by itself. It took him 4 seasons to really put it together AND get healthy enough to reap the benefits.
And because the Tigers never offered him a proper extension, they’d have to pay $400M to keep him now.
Or they could just move on from him and build the rotation around Valdez. *shrug*
Well, the other team will get some prime years, but yes they’ll get bad years probably as well.
We got Valdez’s best years.
It was not their call. Skubal is represented by Boros. Vast majority of Boros clients test the free agent market hoping to set new records for contracts.
It could have been their call if they’d offered market rate for a star pitcher. That’s the thing about Boras, generally he wants to test the market but he could bend as long as the extension is stupid money. It’s rare though, teams extend players to keep overall costs reasonable and avoid paying eleventy zillion dollars to a player.
It was their call to make a silly low-ball offer. Not smart.
Skubal had a 3.71 ERA and 3.65 FIP in his 3 full seasons prior to 2024. In 2024 he had a breakout season with a 2.39 ERA and 2.49 FIP. From 2021-2024 he had a 3.24 ERA. At that level of play he was worth far more than a 4/80 offer.
His 2025 performance, winning a 2nd straight Cy Young, and Winning his arbitration case cemented a record asking price in free agency. Since FA contracts are weighted to the most recent season with some weight on the previous 2 seasons, if he comes out of 2026 healthy and with an ERA anywhere close to his 2024-2025 level, he is going to be paid unprecedented dollars for a pitcher.
All agents want to test the free agent market. Boras’ agency isn’t even the one that takes the fewest extensions while a player is in arbitration. It’s not even 2nd fewest. Its league average in that regard.
That’s why I went with innings pitched. Before his first Cy Young win, he had never thrown 150 IP before. Without 2020 since it was a mickey mouse year for everyone, his innings totals innthe 3 years post-covid are as follows:
2021- 149.1 IP
2022- 117.2 IP
2023- 80.1 IP
The good ERA/FIP aside, he was not at all durable in those 3 seasons and was trending in the wrong direction. Even with 2024’s breakout I would have been wary of giving him a huge contract then and there just because of his sketchy at best durability. I’m not saying Detroit was right in offering to pay him like an average #4 starter after he won a major award and had a great couple of starts in the postseason, but I’m also pushing back on saying he immediately deserved a bajillion dollars based on the one full year and not at all baking in the risk that 2024 was merely a flash in the pan. Now though? Sure, give him all of the money.
I’m saying that if the Tigers had offered Skubal something close to 250M after the 2024 season, he might have taken it. Instead, they offered him 80M. That definitely came back to bite them in the @ss.
Of pitchers that were primarily starting pitchers and on the opening day roster from 2021-2025
Average start – 5.07 IP
Average number of starts – 21
Average # of innings – 106.5
(using decimals rather than the 1/3 nomenclature based on number of outs that is typically used)
He missed 141 games between 2022 and 2023 due to elbow surgery in late 2022. Even before his breakout in the 2024 season Skubal was better than average in terms of durability with 115.7 IP per season. After 2024 he was at a 134.8 IP per season average. As I already noted his ERA and FIP were both those of a TOR SP. Any offers should have been far above 4/80.
None of that applies to team’s consideration today after two outstanding and fully healthy seasons in 2024 and 2025 in which he averaged 193.6 IP as long as he finishes 2026 healthy. If he does, his FA contract will set new records.
I’m not talking about today. I’m talking about right after 2024. He absolutely should have been offered way more than the 4/80 that was thrown up there, but I have a hard time agreeing he should’ve been given 200M+ just based on the one great year after a few average ones while he was dealing with elbow surgery in the middle. He didn’t quite have the track record yet to garner a massive long term deal. Maybe 4/140 would have made more sense. Either way, doesn’t matter now, he’ll get his half a billion+ from the Dodgers or another team with deep pockets before 2027.
I don’t know about $200 million, but certainly more than a 4/80 extension which he would have beat handily in 1 year of arbitration and 3 years of FA that deal would have covered. If that was the number, it was not market value for a pitcher with his performance to that point.
My point is that when the Tigers offer to him was reportedly made, Skubal had already agreed to a $10.15 million salary for the 2025 season in his 2nd year of arbitration eligibility, and it was certain that he would get more in 2026. He was already worth far more than 4 years and$80 million if he was on the open market.
Skubal is a Boras client. He didn’t sign. McGonigle is not a Boras client. He was willing to listen. And sign.
Hindsight is an amazing gift. It was neither at the time.
Yeah just like they did with Verland……..
There were already multiple writers predicting Skubal could get 300M-400M with two more strong seasons. 140M wouldn’t have gotten it done.That was right after the 2024 season. Admittedly, it’s easy to be generous with other people’s money.
VaynerSports had literally never had a client sign an extension pre-arbitration before McGonigle. Boras has had multiple players do so. Eventually you will look stuff up before commenting.
Have you seen Mr. Beast videos?
‘Tis the season.
Skubal isn’t happening because the Tigers aren’t going to spend almost a half of a Billion dollars on one player
I am not sure if i am anywhere near as hype. Some of these deals pan out, some do not- I like this deal generally, but seems risky to tie up so much money for so long to almost anyone.
This is fantastic news for my fantasy team
@miggy They are not going to be able to lock up Skubal now barring an overpay of an overpay. Skubal endured the riskiest period and is due to cash in. Hes gonna test free agency as he should.
This does not mean Tigers can not keep him, it is just they ll have to wait and possibly outbid others.
Good for him. Looks like everyday players are more willing to stay and sign with losing teams. Definitely not like a pitcher Skenes or Skubal.
Nice passive aggressive dig. Didn’t nyy just get swept by Miami?
hook316 that would be Tampa Bay
I don’t think teams want to lock up pitchers early. Waiting makes sense because pitcher injuries are much more common and often end an entire season.
more like teams are willing to drop long term money on a hitter based solely on what he has done in the minors. It seems like every top 10 prospect gets an offer like this while they are still in AAA (or right around when they are called up). Top 10 hitters tend to work out.
Top pitchers like Skubal took 4 years to even realize how good he was in the bigs. Gavin Willaims is the next crop of that guy (#1 in baseball pitching prospect who is just a mid rotation guy 2 years in). Pitchers also break down more. Teams are happier to not have the long term risk that a guy never breaks out, or completely breaks down.
It really comes down to- no one is supposed to throw 100
By that you mean Detroit is one game under .500 right now? Two winning years in a row and 2nd round of the playoffs both years.
The Tigers have been to the playoffs the last 2 seasons one of them making it to ALCS. They are loaded with young talent with more coming as well.
As for position players being extended, teams clearly have been prioritizing extending young talent last few years. They have been extending the position players much earlier. Id assume they view it to risky to extend pitchers that early, then by the time they are nearing Free Agency the risk/reward has tilted in the pitchers favor.
Awesome! Now sign Skubal.
Can’t afford him. He’s going to be $50M+. At least they haven’t shown that they are willing to pay that much. Cool if they do though.
Why? Pitchers have a shelf life. It would cost Tigers literally 4 times this contract to even get Boras to answer the phone.
This. Tigers should obviously push as many chips in as they can to win while Skubal is here, but as soon as he goes they should have a strong core to keep the party going without him.
Not happening!
Tigers will never pay 500M for one starter no matter how good he is.
The Tigers signed JV to a lengthy then huge deal back around 2012. They have shown they can afford it staying profitable.
The question is if they view that as best way to spend that $. Going close to all in on a starting pitcher is very risky on todays game.
Sick! Let’s gooooo
Nice signing Motor City, kid looked like a stud in that opening series here in SD. Congrats!
Hell yes, this sort of thing instills confidence going forward.
Wow, that felt like it was out of nowhere…good for the Tigers!
These sorts of things never work out for anyone.
There’s definitely some risk to doing this. First Colt Keith (which has so far worked out). Now McGonigle. If he were to underperform or get a serious injury, we’d all look back and wonder why the Tigers didn’t wait out the 6 years of club control because his contract would still be on the books. Sounds like they are paying a premium for the extra 2 years.
But, I do think it’s fair. It has to suck to be a really good player making like 1/20th of the other really good players.
I don’t understand the rush either. The 2030’s could be brutal with 20,000,000+ of dead money.
It may work out (doubt it) but you know that the pirates are kicking themselves because Griffin has looked nothing short of overmatched. Looks like a bust
A slightly different perspective is inflation. There’s reason to believe that inflation will not only continue, but get even worse. In 7 years, that $150 million may very well be a massive discount. He will be playing for $18.75 million when the value of his services are 2-3x that in those dollars.
Looks like a bust. What is wrong with you? He’s 19 years old. Try back on five years.
Oh no, no, no. Konner Griffen is going to be a very good player. He’s going to turn 20 yrs. old next week. He is the real deal. Now McGonigal is 1 1/2 yrs older and has had more minor league seasoning. When Griffen is 21 going on 22, he might very well be better than KMac.
Yes I feel this drags generally favor the teams. If he was willing to play it out they arbitration then hit free agency in 6 years he could be in line for over 300 million on his next deal. Owners are loving that all these young guys are debating their free agent years.
$140-150M spread over 8-9yrs is nothing to these teams. How many of these teams waste money on dumb 1yr deals every year? The Pirates signed Michael A Taylor and Tim Mayza a couple of years ago and got negative WAR. Better to tie up the money with a young asset and hope they out-produce the contract.
Slider_withcheese: You do realize that Konnor’s been called up almost a whole 2 weeks, right? He’s played above average defense. He’s putting the ball (most of the time) in play & getting on base at a decent (not great) clip. Yes, his BA is in the toilet right now but it’s still a VERY SMALL sample size. I’d say he looks nothing at all like a bust. As another poster stated: if the player signs and doesn’t live up to the contract, we blame the team. If a player doesn’t sign an extension & either walks or gets traded then signs a mega deal, we blame the team.
Wait. McGonigle was signed out of HS and bypassed AAA. He only had half a season in low A, then 1 yr each at A & AA.
Griffin has even less experience?
Three weeks in you are calling the leagues #1 prospect a bust? Nah, these two signings both make perfect sense from a business and on the field perspective.
@troyvan
He could also be getting that $18.75MM when his services are that of a utility player, or he could be out of baseball due to injury. If he and his agent are happy, and the team is happy, what’s the problem?
It set a record, so even the union should be happy.
Three extra years.
It was a smart move.
Next up Clarke.
Green should be extended.
Dillon Dingler also.
Tork is represented by Boras so good luck with that!
Dingler’s older and controlled for his remaining prime years. He’ll be too old (for a catcher) to extend.
Greene won’t bring crazy money as a FA.
Tork won’t spend his career in Detroit. Too many young 1B options in the system. The Tigers’ infield should be pretty good 2027 and beyond.
Now that we have more info, I’d like to say I love the assignment clause – $5 million if traded. If I were an agent, I’d make sure my clients got that, too.
TV
“If I were an agent, I’d make sure my clients got that, too.”
Which contract do you think your client would prefer?
A) 5 years, $100 million with $5 more if they traded
B) 5 years, $104 million
I would tell my agent to get me 105M, plus another 5M if I got traded.
@Slider Its worked out very well for Braves with Acuna. Even factoring time hes lost for injury hes been a massive steal.
Considering m ost MLB teams are using this model Id have to assume its not just viable but the better option for them. Its pretty safe to assume all these MLB GMs know much more about MLB talent and MLB economics opposed to you….
Yes yes yes!
The Tigers getting a FACE OF FRANCHISE once Skubal leaves. McGonigle has some superstar potential and is likely the Tigers best player in several days. A move they had to make. They made it.
Random fact: I thought that young man sort of resembled Pete Rose, in his stature and hustle.
Rose was 5’ 11”. McGonigle is 5’ 9”.
With the ABS strike zone, many players lost 1-2 inches in height. It wouldn’t surprise me if Rose actually was more like 5′ 9″.
That doesn’t even make sense.
Ghost,
What “that” doesn’t make sense?
None of it. You think players shrunk because of the ABS? You think Pete Rose was 5’9″ because of the ABS? What the hell?
Ghost,
Measurements are more accurate this year because players want smaller strike zones “because of the ABS.” Rose and many, many other players throughout history very likely overstated their heights because of ego, something true not just with baseball players.
Here’s an article on the subject:
Are MLB players shrinking? Why players are losing inches on their official height due to ABS – Yahoo Sports share.google/FCm7bPGxVru3PP7LT
What a great article. Thanks for sharing that.
Pete Rose likelier had a 5’9 strike zone than a 5’11 strike zone. But that would be due to his Charley Lau crouch.
Good deal for both sides. He’s set for life financially and will still be young enough to get another big contract when this one expires. And if he produces as expected the Tigers get off cheap for the next 8 years.
Kid can buy a lot of Bionicles with that money
“Rookie of the overwhelming Year front-runner”
And he is a runner. Did you see him score from first yesterday?
When will the Cardinals do this with JJ Wetherholt?
Watch him also take home a pick for the Tigers sometime.
Wow- surprise out of the blue. But good move by Tigers. This kid is the real deal.
There were rumors that the Tigers were having ongoing extension talks with McGonigle. Looks like the rumors were true.
Great news for Tigers Fans!
Pitching wins. Get Skubal done before he’s in LA next year. Tigers do a great job at player development unlike the Yankees. Rice has been great but they failed at number one picks Volpe and Wells. Lombard better be the real deal. Jones looks like he should be traded also. Too many strike outs.
I long for the day when a team wins by scoring 0 runs.
Skubal has very little incentive not to wait for free agency.
Skubal, like Scherzer before him, is as good as gone.
If the Tigers could still contend for a World Series without Skubal, then, it would be smart to flip him for a truckload of young, high upside talent on the MLB team and also almost ready for the Big Leagues.
SportsFan,
That’s about the biggest “IF” I’ve ever seen. Trading Skubal would obliterate the Tigers’ chances at a title.
I think that ship has sailed now that the season has started.
That’s the way an agent is supposed to represent his client. Kevin McGonigal is set for life and he will be around 30 years old when he becomes a free agent. Obviously, who knows what he will end up being. Injuries can haunt a guy. Think Grady Sizemore. Think Dustin Pedroia. Think David Wright. But, right now, if he stays healthy he can be worth every dime of that contract. As a Tiger fan I am pleased.
If he’s like Pedroia or Wright, he’ll be worth the contract and more. TONS of excess value in the early years.
Garciaparra, Tulowitzki, and many others. You are right, MLB is full of stories of great players that declined due to injuries in their 30’s.
A funny story. I knew a drug rep who was a very good college baseball player and got drafted in the 18th (I think) round by the Rockies. He shows up at rookie camp along with Tulowitzki and Dexter Fowler. He said after that 1st afternoon’s workout he knew he had no chance. Played 1 year in low A, then retired. He could hit a golf ball a mile however.
Those are sad cases you listed. All had HOF potential.
Wow great contract for the team even better than the griffin one
I’m honestly surprised that McGonigle didn’t hold out for more money. I think the Tigers just picked up a bargain.
Great decision for him, what does JJ get from StL if they extend him ?
About 130 million?
McGonigal is way better than JJ. No offence. The kid is good, but McGonigal is another Bryce Harper. Maybe better.
And he plays defense too.
Great contract extension, now sign Clark to one and call him up!
He’ll get $21m in what would be his 1st arb year. Name 1 person who has gotten close to that??
The highest is Cody Belliger at 11.5 mil. Kris Bryant is number 2 at 10.85 mil
That model was broken wide open in the final year of arb eligibility by Skubal.
I will say this, Tarek Skubal is on the player’s union BOD and he broke that arbitration system wide open. The rest of the players should be sending big thank yous to TS.
In a way, this is why the Tigers had to go so big on McGonigal now. In 6-8 yrars, McGonigal’s low $20’s millions will look like a steal…if he’s still playing.
The owners are going to have a problem with this next union deal. How do they put a lid on that “last arbitration year can now be compared to all players contracts”. Now, instead of 3 years of arb control, teams really only have 2. The union isn’t going to give that up.
McGonigle gets 16M in what would have been his first arb year, 21M in what would have been his secon arb year, and 22M in his third arb year.
That’s really insane.
Good job by McGonigle and his agent to get his contract so much more front-loaded than every other similar deal.
gbs
“Good job by McGonigle and his agent to get his contract so much more front-loaded than every other similar deal.”
Doesn’t really matter. What matters is present value. Front-loaded or back-loaded, two deals can have the same present value.
Most people, of course, want their money sooner rather than later
this and Griffins #’s are just stupid.. Not in their wildest dreams would they earn this kind of money in the 1st 6 yrs-thru arb-period!!!!
AND what would be their FA years- no way
The Tigers just got a bargain. Yes, they’ll overpay a bit for McGonigle’s first two arbitration years, but they also get what would have been his first three free agent years at a very cheap price.
if he’s a good player 7 years from now, yes.
The Albies deal was really slanted in favor of the team, but the Griffin/McGonigle deals only make sense for the team if the player is good and healthy for all those years- have seen too many guys flame out over those years to make me love the deals for the teams sake. Great for the players though- so what if you out perform it, you’ve got 140 to 150 million.
It all comes down to “IF”. IF everyone is anointing him the next “soto or Ohtani”. IF he can produce like he has in previous years(against lessor talent). IF is a big word
The only if is IF HE STAYS HEALTHY. If he does, he’s going to be a huge star.
$150M is nowhere close to Sot/Ohtani money.
This is a weird contract.
5 Points to Griffindor!
Kevin will make $21M+ in what would be his arb years. Skeens wont even get that much. aand he has a MLB resume
Skenes is going to break arb salary records and make much more than $21M over three years. Skubal makes $32M for ’26.
Don’t overlook the upfront $14M signing bonus McGonigle receives.
He gets 14 million right up front, that’s some serious life-changing money. Looks like the Tigers have a new face for their franchise. I don’t think Skubal is coming back, but this will definitely alleviate the blow of losing him.
KM is a decent looking SS prospect but he is not a franchise player.
You apparently have never seen him play. This kid has superstar written all over him.
Wrong. He’s excelled at every level. He skipped AAA and he’s currently on pace to have a 10 bWAR season. He’s definitely a franchise player.
He’s going to better than any middle infielder the Tigers have probably ever had. Better than Trammel, Whitaker, Gehringer, Kuenn, Guillen.
He’s not going to be Ozzie Smith in the field, but he’s got perennial All Star SS written all over him.
I think Bobby Witt, Jr. might be the best all-around SS in the game right now, but KMac is going to give him a run.
Ditto the above
A NotScottBoras client signs a contract with the NottheYankees.
Wonderful news.
Go Tigers!
Well worth the money as Alan Trammell’s or Lou Whitaker’s replacement for the next 2 decades plus. He makes all the plays in the field, and his at bats are must see t.v. Exciting times for the team with Keith, and Dingler joining him at the top of the order. GO TIGERS !
I’m gonna need to see the Cubs extend Seiya next. With all these extensions happening. It seems like they already know we won’t have a full season of baseball next year. Which is absolutely bs that Wrigley Field finally gets the All Star Game and there’s maybe a 50/50 chance of it happening. Which means they’ll delaying having the ASG at Wrigley for another 10 years. Probably. Manfred’s successor won’t be any better than Manfred himself.
I’d say there’s a 90%+ chance that we don’t miss regular season games in ’27. Nobody likes losing out on money. The league right now is trending towards 70M+ total fans for the fourth consecutive year.
I hope you’re right because I want to experience a homerun Derby and ASG so bad. It’ll be a few years after the A’s stadium is built before they get an ASG.
I’ve been saying this since the looming cba. It would look so bad on Manfred if he allowed a shortage of play to happen. From the Astros cheating, the Ohtani gambling scandal swept under the rug. Another Gambling scandal with Emmanuel Clase and they other dude. The 2020 Mickey mouse season.
Especially since his last season is thankfully 2028. Expires before the 2029 spring training starts.
I hope you do get the chance to attend!
Manfred is more interested in announcing expansion teams and growing the game which he has said before he leaves his desk. Scandals will always be a part of pro sports. He does the owners’ bidding so it’s ultimately what they will decide to do. Slaying/wounding the MLB golden goose isn’t part of their agenda.
I would say there’s a 70% chance that a full season will be played in 2027 and a 98% chance that at least some games will be played.
2% chance of WWIII and the end of civilization??
😆 🤣 😂
This extension starts next year. McGonigle will get 16M in what would have been his first arbitration year and 21M the year after that. 22M in what would have been his final year of arbitration. 23M each for what would have been his first three years of free agency.
I don’t think Julio Rodriguez, catcher for the Aguilas Cibaenas, is the $210M version of Julio Rodriguez you meant to link to.
They should trade Skubal to LA for a monster haul.
No.
Skubal for Trout straight up. Anaheim Flips Skubal to the Cubs for Ben Brown straight up. 😂😂
Cubs extend him 5 years with a blank check. His new agent is Mr. Macintosh (Iykyk)
That ship has sailed. Only if they are 10 games out of the playoffs at the deadline would that happen.
His agents is a genius. No way this light hitting SS is worth the risk. Jacob Wilson is a better version and was less of a commitment.
Light hitting? Are you talking about McGonigle? If so, are you insane?
“Light hitting SS?” McGonigle’s OPS+ is 162. Jacob Wilson’s is 106 in his career, .50 in 2026! I love Jacob Wilson, but McGonigle is looking like a much better hitter.
McGonigle is also better defensively than Wilson… it’s not even close.
If there’s risk with McGonigle, it’s his defense. His hitting is a slam dunk. The kid is probably going to be winning batting titles pretty soon.
His defense is at least average. Better range than previously advertised, needs to be more consistent to be really good. But yeah, his offense is already excellent.
Good deal for both. McG is set for life no matter what happens and the Tigers get their possible superstar for 8 years
Insanity
Hey, whatever happened to these guys ?
Aaron Hicks (7 years, $70M in 2019),
Jacoby Ellsbury (7 years, $153M in 2013)
There’s always risk on both sides.
Ah yes let’s compare two outfielders from a different era who signed in their late 20s to a top of the line SS prospect who just started buying beers legally.
Who can be a one year wonder
Who cares? What does that have to do with anything?
I care
And I don’t care what you think
Pirates looking like they got a steal with Konnor Griffin already.
Maybe. But Griffin still has to prove that he can hit major league pitching.
Is there something in the air? For me, and this is why I am not a GM, I do not get why you would give this contract. Let the guy play for a year or two, before committing. If he turns out to be the next big player, then offer him an extension. He at that point he decides to wait for free agency, then wear him out before you trade him for a haul.
If they wait until the end of the season and he slays, then they might have to pay him double this contract. They want to commit to good players but they obviously don’t want to just hand a rookie 300M. This extension about 3 weeks into the season is the best deal they could have gotten. They’re also kind of buying back some good will after all but botching the whole Skubal situation.
After one or two years, McGonigle would demand far more money for an extension. This way, the Tigers are taking a risk, but they are quite possibly getting him at a bargain price.
Of course, I understand your point. But he’s only played two dozen MLB games!
You think they should wait one or two years and then sign him for 200M-250M? Or wait until he’s a free agent and pay him even more?
Our disagreement is you believe he is going to be a superstar, and I am unsure. He may, but until i see more, there is no way I would give away that money on an unsure thing.
You think the Tigers should wait until he’s out of their price range, like they did with Skubal. I’m glad they didn’t make the same mistake twice.
TR
“you believe he is going to be a superstar”
He doesn’t need to be a superstar to live up to this contract
@ Raven:
The Tigers have seen a lot of him, and they know what they’re doing: he probably couldn’t be any more fundamentally sound, with immense upside. This contract is a win – win.
Love it. Love seeing guys spend a decade in one uniform and become a true connection with the franchise.
This has huge potential to be great for both parties and the fans.
The owners of MLB teams know that several things are coming in the next CBA and soon thereafter that will make player salaries jump so they are working to limit their exposure by signing young players to extensions.
New international media deals. All MLB international broadcast deals expire after 2028. Netflix paid $100 million to broadcast the WBC in Japan. The new broadcast deals in Japan and Korea alone should far exceed the $2.4 billion for 3 years that MLB got from Netflix (Home Run Derby, Opening Night Game, 1 special event game per season), NBCUniversal (Sunday Night Baseball, Sunday Leadoff, Wild Card Series) and ESPN (30 games plus in‑market streaming rights for six MLB teams).
Those US deals expire after 2028 as well. With growing viewership and interest in baseball we can expect that money to go up substantially as well.
MLB having all local broadcast rights under their umbrella starting in 2029. Manfred is working towards that now and has 14 teams under that umbrella already and with several teams local TV deals expiring at the end of 2028 and at least 3 teams likely to change hands by the beginning of 2029, there is a good chance that he will have the 23 votes he needs to push that through whether the big market teams want it or not. That will end the revenue disparity between teams based on TV contracts. Some teams will still earn slightly more because I doubt the split of other local revenue will change, but revenue for all but 5-6 teams will go up, and some will go up 50% or more.
And then you have the changes that are going to happen in the CBA. That is another big conversation. Salaries always go up after a new CBA is signed. This time will be no different. Yes, we will have a full 162 game season in 2027. The owners have too much at stake. They cannot afford to lose 100% of their revenue while interest/viewership in the sport is growing and right before they are looking to reap huge rewards in new media deals worldwide.
I disagree. These long-term, very Team friendly extensions is Baseball’s way of slowly resetting economically. After the way salaries have exploded in recent years, buying out early free agent years and pushing some players free agencies into their early-to-mid 30’s will actually bring salaries down long term as today’s highest earners start to disappear and the next generation are making less signing long-term extensions
Let’s start with the idea of resetting economically. Its not happening. Its also not the reason for signing young players to long extensions.
According to Manfred, MLB revenue has gone up by nearly $3 billion since the start of the current CBA. Players, including all minor league player salaries and draft/int’l FA bonuses, is not close to 50% of that revenue. It did rise from 37% to 42%, but still not close to what the players want and deserve.
Salaries go up with every CBA and this one will be no different.
The revenue of teams like the Tigers is about to go way up after 2028. It will for 2/3 of MLB teams. I already talked about the changes that are coming in national, international, local media deals after 2028. That means salaries will go up even more starting with the 2029 season.
One of the things the MLBPA will be pushing for big time is free agency starting after fewer years of service time. In the current CBA they made big inroads into teams manipulating service time, now they want players to hit free agency after their age 28 season on average instead of after their age 30 season on average. Teams are trying to counter that by signing younger players to bigger deals so they can say, “see young players are making more now. No reason to mess with the FA service time rules.”
I could make a book out of this, but this is not the place. Just watch what happens during the next CBA negotiations.
Can someone explain how the royals got a draft pick for Bobby Witt if he was already in the legaue a few years ago
He was top 3 in MVP votes during one of his pre arbitration seasons.
Awesome. Whether he ends up at 2b, SS or 3B ultimately who cares. The bat will play and his defense is good enough.
14MM up front, letting people around you know how much you make or you made is a lot more awful than you think.
Skubal and Greene will not resign.
Focus on Clark, Rainer and for sure Dingler.
Dingler is really in a good position. Catchers than can both hit and play elite defense are extremely hard to come by. Big bucks heading his way.
I’m not going to type out my whole rant again. Contracts like these are terrible, no matter how good the prospect is. The team takes on all the risk for not that much reward, and they risk screwing with a player’s development if he struggles at first and needs to be sent down, but isn’t.
Stop doing this, GMs!
No matter how good the prospect is? So that would have been a bad contract for Shohei Ohtani?
Not that much reward? Even if he turns out to be comparable to Rogers Hornsby, as projected by one of the industry’s most respected prospect experts?
Good for all involved.
I see some similarities between him and Jacob Wilson of the A’s.
McGonigle is much better than Wilson, offensively and defensively.
went to see the kid in high school and knew he was special, but unsure just how good in part because of his size- but this Keith Law comment sure jumps out, and his batting eye so far at the MLB level, pared with that swing, is elite:
“If he’s at second base, fine, he’s Rogers Hornsby, that’ll play. His projection is going to be high averages and OBPs with 20 homers, and if you do that, you can play anywhere.”
Waste of money. This is going to backfire heavily. I’ve seen him play and I’m not super impressed. Just because he is 21 doesn’t mean that he’ll get better
@ LFGM:
Huh? How much of him have you watched? I don’t think we’ve been seeing the same games (I’ve watched all of them so far this year)…
He is an absolute stud: incredible zone recognition, timing, power, totally smooth, and the defense has been much better than expected/feared.
This is a win for him and the team. You’re just frustrated because the Mets are so bad!
@Tiger’s lover hes going to end the year batting under .200, I garentee it
Now your just trolling… or drunk.
I’m guessing one AB that he struck out in. I’m pretty sure McGonigle has struck out in the major leagues already.
Ooooh! Hot take! That’s throwing down some ESPN-quality knowledge there!
McGonigle is a 21 year-old who completely skipped AAA. Through 19 games, he’s on pace to have an 11.0 bWAR season. I’m not saying he’ll end up with 11 bWAR, but he has been incredibly impressive so far.
McGonigle could reasonably end up with 4-5 WAR.
I’d guess 6-8 bWAR this season.
“I’d guess 6-8 bWAR this season.”
Completely possible, but that’s kind of a stretch, at least for this season. In a few seasons he’ll be sniffing 10 WAR maybe.
Also, McGonigle doesn’t have to get better. His current level of play is amazing.
But what if he does/will? FOF Tigers have.
Hey, what ever happened to Mark Appel?
Wasn’t he a can’t fail number 1 pick ???
It’s one thing to be a #1 pick. Quite another to dominate at every level, including your first few weeks in the majors.
Yet there are still plenty of examples of those kinds of players who never became more than early flashes in the pan, even if they had a good rookie year.
Whatever happened to making sure someone can actually perform at the big league level before handing out a long-term deal? While unlikely, it’s quite possible that McGonigle is a bust, in which case even this supposedly team-friendly deal would turn into a large albatross on the payroll.