This will be a day long remembered. Kevin McGonigle’s brief time with the Detroit Tigers has felt like a major league speed run. In a matter of weeks, he went from being a guy who might make the opening day roster, to arguably being this team’s best hit, to now being a guy who is going to get paid through the 2034 season. When you know, you know, and the Tigers were right to pull the trigger on this extension. It’s worth acknowledging that, much like any long-term contract, there is a risk to this. McGonigle has one major league home run to his name. But if the alternative was waiting until McGonigle priced himself out, I can’t think of a single Tiger fan out there who isn’t happy with this deal.
There’s been an unfortunate reality that's started to settle in amongst the Detroit Tigers and their fans over the last few years: Tarik Skubal will most likely not be wearing the old English D after this season. It’s something that I try not to think about too much. For the time being, Detroit still has the best pitcher in baseball taking the mound for them every fifth day. Still, I think the bigger concern with this organization isn’t so much the possibility of losing Skubal, it’s the possibility of losing school and not spending any money to try to improve your roster beyond that. Over the last few months, this organization has now locked up Framber Valdez, who, at worst, is a really good number two pitcher in the rotation and, at best, can be a legitimate ace for you, and now they’ve locked up their young budding superstar to a long-term deal. This organization might never spend like the Dodgers, but it is a huge sigh of relief for this fan base to see them finally spending wisely.
You don’t get the impression that Kevin McGonigle is a player who lets a whole lot of things get to his head, but this has to be a weight off of his shoulders in a psychological sense. Players spend years working their tails off to try to get to a point where they are financially secure for life. The fact that McGonigle now has long-term security despite being less than a month into his major league career has to be a very rewarding feeling. There’s still pressure to perform, obviously, but the pressure that comes with knowing what the future has in store for you is no longer there. Kevin McGonigle’s past, present, and future belong in Detroit.