Inside Kevin McGonigle's $150 million extension with Tigers: 'Hardwired to be great'

Detroit — It was poignant that Colt Keith was the first player to walk into the interview room for Kevin McGonigle’s press conference Wednesday.

Keith signed a highly-publicized contract extension with the Tigers in January 2024 before he even made his big-league debut. He was 22. McGonigle on Wednesday, 17 games into his big-league career, signed an eight-year extension worth $150 million with escalators that could raise that to $160 million.

Keith’s deal was six years, $28.6 million with escalators that could take it over $80 million.

Yet, as a large contingent of players and coaches crammed into the back of the small interview room, nobody was happier for McGonigle than Keith.

“Yeah, the market has definitely gone up since I signed my contract,” Keith said with a wry smile. “But I love Kevin. I want him to get the most out of it. I’m happy for him to get all of that money. For me, it made sense at the time. It was fair for me and it was fair for the team.

“Kevin is definitely in a different situation. He’s got a lot more polished tools at a younger age. He deserves that money. The kid can play. He deserves everything.”

Just 17 games into his MLB career, Tigers' Kevin McGonigle, right, signed an eight-year extension worth $150 million with escalators that could raise that to $160 million.

Riley Greene was also in the back of the interview room. He and Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter, they were the initial building blocks of this Tigers’ resurgence. None of them were offered a contract extension prior to reaching their arbitration years.

Their reaction? Who cares?

“No (animosity) because we’re here to win,” Greene said. “And that guy can help us win. I don’t think this bothers anyone. We’re happy for him. Great dude, great player. He deserves it.”

More: Let's put Kevin McGonigle's huge contract in historical perspective

Giving this type of contract to a 21-year-old player just starting his career, theoretically, could alter the potentially fragile dynamics in a clubhouse. Not this one.

“I don’t worry about that because I know the makeup of the room,” said manager AJ Hinch, who also attended the press conference along with the entire hitting department. “Also I know how Kevin is going to handle it. Just look at him today. It was the most nervous you are ever going to see him.

“I trust our guys to be able to adapt and handle everything that is thrown at them. I don’t worry about anything other than getting through the day, getting through the magnitude of a moment like this and getting back to the baseball.”

One of the things president Scott Harris revealed Wednesday was that he approached McGonigle with the idea of an extension back in February, before it was clear he was going to make the Opening Day roster.

“Before we even talked numbers with him and his agent, I committed to separating the contract from the decision of whether he would make the Opening Day roster,” Harris said. “I felt strongly that it wasn’t right to hang that on his head. This team is trying to win a World Series this year. If he was one of our best players, we’re going to take him with or without a contract.

“I wanted to make sure we didn’t put any extra burden on a 21-year-old’s shoulders.”

If McGonigle felt any additional weight from the looming contract extension, he never showed it on the field and he never talked about it. Besides Harris and his agent, the only other person he confided in was Hinch.

“It was clear he was in control of his emotions,” Hinch said. “It’s a long time for him to navigate the winding road of negotiations while still experiencing a lot of firsts on the field. But his overall vibe never changed. He’s very good at understanding the line that is drawn between business and baseball.

“It gives me a lot of confidence that he’s going to handle the magnitude of the attention that’s going to come his way simply by signing on that dotted line. It comes with more attention and he’s already getting a lot.”

More: Kevin McGonigle's career timeline with Tigers, from draft day to extension

Truly, sitting at the podium Wednesday between Harris and general manager Jeff Greenberg, with his agents, parents and brother in the front row and with practically the entire clubhouse watching from the back, it was the first time McGonigle seemed overly emotional and nervous.

He choked up when his mother began to cry, like any human of any age would.

“Mom and dad, I dreamed about this growing up,” he said. “We talked about it growing up. Thanks for sharing this moment with me. All the time you spent, all the money you spent to get me to this point, it just means a lot. Love you guys.”

This contract, which takes him through arbitration and three years into what would’ve been his free agency, gives him financial security. It also, in a sense, gives him job security. It’s why Keith jumped at the chance to sign his extension.

“The security of knowing they have a financial tie to you is big,” Keith said. “You’re going to be on the roster. You are going to be able to struggle and go through things and not have to panic or worry about job security. He’s already got the money. Now he’s basically guaranteed to be on the team and he’s going to be given a longer leash.

“That’s awesome for him. It’s such a good feeling for a player when a team commits that money to you and you can just go out and play free.”

The trade-off, though, is the possibility that he could’ve made even more on the open market had he allowed himself the chance to become a free agent at age 27. There are no opt-outs in his eight-year deal.

“Since I’ve been drafted, it’s just who I am, I’m loyal,” McGonigle said. “I want to stick one spot and help the team out and win a World Series. We were able to agree on this deal and I know it was the right move.”

This type of commitment certainly carries risk for the Tigers, too. They are projecting greatness on a player who has just 17 games under his belt. But there was zero hesitation from Harris.

“One of the main inputs into the decision was what we expect Kevin to grow into, in addition to what he already is now,” Harris said. “He’s already an incredible player. But what we’ve seen, his work ethic, his grit, his determination, his competitiveness, that’s how he’s hardwired. He’s hardwired to be great and to continue to get more out of his gifts.

“We expect that to continue.”

McGonigle is the first Tigers player to complete this cycle in the Harris era — a player drafted, developed, promoted to the big leagues and signed to a long-term deal. As Harris said, he is embodiment of his three organizational tenets — to acquire, develop and retain young talent, to create a culture of development and to dominate the strike zone on both sides.

“Kevin is a special talent and a special person,” Harris said. “It’s not just the slash-line. It’s not just the power. It’s the way he goes about his at-bats, the way he fights for every pitch and the way he fights for every advantage on the field. It’s the way he makes his teammates better.

“That’s the type of player you want to be here for a long time.”

The job of navigating McGonigle through all of this falls on Hinch. It’s a job he’s very familiar with, having nurtured the likes of George Springer, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker through their early years.

“Look, the road ahead is going to have a few potholes,” Hinch said. “Hopefully there will be some rewards, some great times, some playoff wins. We have all of these dreams of what’s ahead when you sign a player to this level of contract. But it’s hard.

“We have to allow him to continue to develop. My job is going to be to continue to push him and get the most out of him. He’s already in a good place. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need to get better.”

Hinch, taking it all in from the back of the room, was moved by McGonigle’s emotional reaction. He loved that he was able to drop his competitive shield for 15 minutes and truly enjoy where this game has taken him so early in his career.

“I know he has so much life ahead that he doesn’t even know exists yet,” Hinch said. “I love that he saw someone twice his age (Justin Verlander) sitting in the back watching his press conference. I loved that he got emotional when he looked over at his family. Because it matters. This is a dream that he’s living and it can get even better.

“This is just scratching the surface. Don’t confuse security with comfort. This guy is going to continue to push. That’s why we love him here.”

McGonigle was asked what he wanted fans to say about him at the end of this contract.

“That I played the game the right way,” he said. “That I didn’t take a pitch off and hustled every single game. That I did whatever I had to do to help everyone on the field with me. That’s my main goal — just to be a winner and help each and every guy I go into battle with.”

Royals at Tigers

First pitch: 1:10 p.m. Thursday, Comerica Park, Detroit

TV/radio: Detroit SportsNet/97.1

SCOUTING REPORT

LHP Kris Bubic (2-1, 2.50), Royals: He’s been stingy. Over his three starts, he’s posted a 0.833 WHIP averaging 11.5 strikeouts and 3.5 walks per nine innings while holding hitters to a .131 average and .532 OPS. He’s got a 32% chase rate and a 37.6% whiff rate. Right-handed hitters are hitless (0-for-21) against his changeup, sinker and slider.

RHP Keider Montero (1-1, 1.74), Tigers: It will get lost as the season rolls on, but his start Friday night was massively important, even this early in the year. The Tigers were back home after getting swept in Minnesota and losing Parker Meadows and Montero stepped up and shoved. He blanked the Marlins on two hits over six innings with seven strikeouts and the Tigers have run off four straight wins heading into play Wednesday.

chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com

@cmccosky

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Inside Kevin McGonigle's $150 million extension with Detroit Tigers