Detroit Tigers sign Colt Keith to contract extension worth up to $82 million over 9 years

The Detroit Tigers have signed prospect Colt Keith to a contract extension.

The deal, which became official Sunday morning, is for six years through the 2029 season with club options for the 2030, 2031 and 2032 seasons. The contract will be worth $82 million over nine years if all of the options are escalated and exercised.

The long-term agreement all but guarantees Keith will be the Tigers' Opening Day second baseman in 2024, making his MLB debut. The 22-year-old, without any major-league experience in his three-year professional career, has been added to the 40-man roster.

"Colt has done everything we've asked of him during his young career," Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said in a statement, "improving all facets of his game and asserting himself as one of the sport's most promising young players. This contract demonstrates our faith in Colt and this organization's commitment to acquire, develop and retain young talent."

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Keith, who received a $2 million signing bonus, will make $2.5 million in 2024, $3.5 million in 2025, $4 million in 2026, $4 million in 2027, $5 million in 2028 and $5 million in 2029.

The six-year deal, spanning all the seasons Keith would be under team control (including three or four arbitration-eligible years), is worth $28.6425 million guaranteed.

The three club options: $10 million for 2030 (with a $2,642,500 buyout), $13 million for 2031 (with a $1 million buyout) and $15 million for 2032 (with a $2 million buyout). He can earn an additional $18 million in potential escalators on the club options.

The Tigers approached Keith's camp in late December about the idea of a long-term contract extension. Keith's agent, Matt Paul of Munger English Sports Managment, explained the decision to pursue the extension with the Tigers.

"Life-changing moment for Colt," Paul told the Free Press on Sunday afternoon. "He put himself in a position to secure enough money financially to where, regardless of what happens, his family should be well taken care of, him and his fiancée. Our philosophy was to make sure we were flexible in our approach to these conversations. If the player has interest in potentially pursuing this type of opportunity, it's our job to do a complete analysis of the potential market. We did a complete analysis."

The Tigers, under former general manager Al Avila, selected Keith at No. 132 overall in the fifth round of the abbreviated 2020 draft out of Biloxi High School in Mississippi. He was a shortstop in high school, and committed to Arizona State, but switched to second base and third base in the minor leagues.

Keith suffered a right shoulder injury, which didn't require surgery, in June 2022 that ended his second season in the minors, but upon returning to full health in October 2022, he raked in the Arizona Fall League to set the table for a breakthrough in his third season.

In 2023, Keith hit .306 with 27 home runs, 60 walks (10.4% walk rate), and 121 strikeouts (21% strikeout rate) across 126 games with Double-A Erie (59 games) and Triple-A Toledo (67 games). He hit .287 and 13 homers in 301 plate appearances with the Mud Hens.

On May 16, Keith hit for the cycle with Double-A Erie while finishing 6-for-6 with two home runs. The Tigers promoted him to Triple-A Toledo on June 26. He went 3-for-4 with a 425-foot home run (in his first plate appearance) and two walks in his first game with the Mud Hens.

"I couldn't be more excited to reach this agreement, securing my place in this organization for years to come," Keith said in a statement. "Since being drafted in 2020, all the coaches and staff have been invaluable in helping me and my teammates grow on and off the field. There's a reason I felt strongly about making a long-term commitment to be here, and being surrounding by incredibly talented teammates and coaches in a big part of that.

"I'd also like to thank my family, fiancée, agent and friends for their tireless support throughout my life and career. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today. I know this is a big accomplishment, but ultimately my mission is to be the best player possible and help win a World Series championship for Tigers fans everywhere."

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Keith has been compared to 17-year MLB veteran Joey Votto by former Tigers hitting coordinator and current Cincinnati Reds hitting coach Joel McKeithan. Votto, now 40, is a six-time All-Star and won the National League MVP in 2010.

"I definitely see a lot of similarities in how they naturally move and their approach to at-bats and the skills they have," McKeithan told the Free Press about 12 months ago. "High-level approach, ability to control the zone, put the ball in play and drive it to all parts of the field."

He ranks as the No. 22 prospect in baseball on MLB Pipeline's top-100 list and the No. 28 prospect on Baseball America's top-100 list. He posted a 75% contact rate and 83.2% in-zone contact rate last season, with an average exit velocity of 90.4 mph.

Keith is the second major prospect to sign a long-term contract extension this offseason, following Jackson Chourio's eight-year, $82 million contract with the Brewers that has the potential to be worth up to $142.5 million over 10 years.

"We are always open to it," Harris said Dec. 4 at the winter meetings, when asked about potential contract extensions. "I'm never going to comment on it until it's done for obvious reasons. But you want to be in a position where you have young players that are deserving of extensions. I think we are moving towards that, and that's about as far as I can really go. ... I mean, the Brewers did it because it made sense for them."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers sign Colt Keith to deal worth up to $82M, 9 years