Tigers Shocking Kevin McGonigle Extension Could Pay Off in Massive Way
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The Detroit Tigers made some huge waves on Wednesday morning when they announced they had agreed to an eight-year contract extension with rookie star Kevin McGonigle.
While the deal -- which is worth a total of $150 million -- had been rumored for weeks now, there was not much indication that it was actually on the cusp of happening before the news broke and lit the fanbase ablaze, that the 21-year-old is going to be in the Motor City for the better part of the next decade.
McGonigle so far has been exactly as advertised and has arguably been the best player on the team to this point of the season, which is exactly why Scott Harris and the front office felt comfortable giving him this deal.
While it is undeniably a huge gamble, signing McGonigle to an extension now and locking him up at this price is something that could pay off in a massive way down the line.
Tigers Will Look Genius for McGonigle Deal if He Pans Out
As things currently stood, Detroit -- who did not manipulate service time by keeping McGonigle in Triple-A for the first couple weeks to secure the team control year -- would have been set to see the youngster hit the open market in 2031.
Now, they have him locked up through 2034 for a maximum value of $23 million per season in the final three years of the contract, a figure which could be pennies on the dollar of what he's worth if McGonigle keeps on getting better.
It's not the way Harris usually operates, but then again, McGonigle is not the usual run of the mill prospect to come through this farm system. He's already proven to be special, and clearly the team feels the same way about him.
McGonigle is Already Best Player on Tigers
To put in perspective just how absurd this is, this is a kid who has never even appeared in a Triple-A game and played less than 50 even at the Double-A level, yet through his first 17 games in the Major Leagues is slashing .311/.417/.492 and not slowing down.
With already an absurd bWAR of 1.1 this early in the season, McGonigle has been a massive difference maker in this early portion of his career, and looks like he has future MVP-type potential.
As professional a hitter as this team has right now, Detroit clearly struck gold in the youngster and now, they are betting it all on him and hopefully cashing in. Barring something completely unforeseen, the Tigers have a new face of the franchise, and they have him for the next decade at a bargain.
The Tigers confirmed they were serious about winning this year by calling him up for Opening Day, and now it looks like they are serious about being a winning organization moving forward.
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Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.