When Chris Davis decided to re-sign with the Baltimore Orioles, the Detroit Tigers lost out on their primary target to improve their offense. Instead of sulking, the team redirected its attention to outfielder Justin Upton, and on Monday, the two sides agreed on a six-year $132.75 million deal.
Justin Upton will get staggering $132.75 million with his 6-year deal with Tigers. https://t.co/22rKTJ6l2a via @usatoday
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 19, 2016
It’s quite obvious that the Tigers are in win-now mode as team owner Mike Ilitch is 86 years old and is desperate to see his franchise win a World Series prior to him passing on. While I certainly understand the urgency, signing a 28-year-old Upton, who is coming off of a 2015 season where hit .251, might not be the most prudent solution.
Former Tiger Yoenis Cespedes is still available on the free agent market and would’ve been a much cheaper and safer option than Upton. Cespedes has seemingly given in to the fact that he’s not going to get a long-term deal with a team after he struggled down the stretch and in the playoffs for the Mets in 2015. He just turned 30 years old and finished 2015 with a .291 batting average, 35 home runs and 105 RBIs compared to Upton’s .251 batting average, 26 home runs and 81 RBIs.
While Upton’s numbers will most likely improve as he’s moving from a depleted San Diego Padres lineup to hitting between Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez, I’m not sure I would’ve taken the long-term risk of signing him to this massive contract. It’s entirely possible that last season was a sign of Upton hitting a decline in his career and he may never reach his full potential. A staggering $132.75 million is a lot to risk in order to find out.
