According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports, the Detroit Tigers and free agent outfielder Justin Upton are in agreement on a six-year, $132 million deal pending a physical.
The deal also includes an opt-out clause after the second year, so Upton could potentially hit the free agent market again before his age 30 season.
Upton, 28, spent the first six years of his career in the desert with the Arizona Diamondbacks before bouncing around between the Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres the last three seasons.
A three-time all-star, Upton had a very solid walk year for the Friars this past season, hitting at a .251/.336/.454 clip, with 26 home runs and 81 runs batted in.
For his career the veteran outfielder owns a .271/.352/.473 slash line, and will now be joining the Tigers for his prime years.
It seemed as though a guy like Upton, who is still on the younger side and with loads of talent, would have been snatched up by now, but after the Cubs handed out a monster deal to Jason Heyward, the rest of the market has been slow to develop.
Upton got almost exactly the same deal as Yoenis Cespedes has been hoping to get, with approximately $22 million annually for six years.
So, now that this domino has fallen, this leaves the aforementioned Cespedes as the most appealing free agent outfielder on the market.
I’m predicting it’s only a matter of time before a team doles out a very similar contract to the Cuban phenom. Only time will tell.
