Tigers Sign Ryan Raburn for Two Years

The Detroit Tigers announced today that they have reached agreement on a two-year contract with OF Ryan Raburn. Raburn, 29, was eligible for salary arbitration for the first time this year, this new contract eliminates the possibility, but Detroit will still control Raburn for a year beyond his new deal as an arbitration-eligible player.

The terms of the contract have not yet been released, but I find the length interesting. Raburn has been a productive player in each of the past two seasons, especially so post all-star break. Despite not getting full-time at bats, Raburn has shown a good deal of production over the past two seasons and is poised to become the everyday man in left this year.

With this signing, Dave Dombrowski continues his trend of not going to hearings with his players. Detroit still facing Joel Zumaya and Armando Galarraga as eligible players this year. I expect to see a similar agreement with Zumaya coming within days, though probably just for one year. With Galarraga, as I said earlier today, it might make more sense to take his case to the arbiter to avoid having to guarantee his deal.

***UPDATE: Raburn’s contract will pay him $3.4 million over the life of the deal, according to the AP and Jason Beck.

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