Miguel Cabrera signs $152 / 8 year contract with the Tigers

 

A few months ago the baseball world was focusing on Johan Santana and his huge contract, now all eyes are set on third baseman Miguel Cabrera, who just signed a large contract of 8 years with the Detroit Tigers.

Cabrera initially signed for just one season and $11.3 million, but the Tigers knew that letting him go was not an option, and even though they are signing him for $152.3 million, it’s almost a fact that he will be twice as expensive after the 2009 season.

The third baseman will be earning around $15 million on 2009 and after that season he’ll be getting a little less than $20 million and with this contract, Cabrera is positioning as the fourth best paid in MLB just after Alex Rodriguez ($27 million), Johan Santana ($22 million) and Manny Ramirez ($20 million).

Cabrera came to the Tigers from the Marlins in a deal that sent 6 prospects to Florida and sent Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit, where he averaged 32 home runs and 115 RBIs in a four year span, and during such time, the only players to match his numbers in the league were Albert Pujols and Vladimir Guerrero.

"What stands out to me is his personality around the clubhouse, everybody knows how good of a ballplayer he is, but he's also great around the clubhouse and is a good teammate." Said Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander.