Detroit Tigers Reportedly Sign Casey McGehee

The Detroit Tigers have made another move, reportedly signing infielder Casey McGehee to a minor league deal.

The Detroit Tigers have added more depth in the form of veteran Casey McGehee. The infielder joins the Tigers after playing for six teams over seven season seasons.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported the move, and MLB.com’s Jason Beck later confirmed that the player was “in Lakeland for a physical.” According to both, it will be a minor league contract for McGehee.

Able to play first and third base, the former Miami player gives the Tigers a fair bit of depth.

In his seven-year Major League career, McGehee is a .259 hitter with 67 home runs and 379 RBI. His best seasons came in 2010 and 2014 with the Brewers and Marlins respectively. With Milwaukee at the beginning of the decade, the infielder hit .285 with 38 doubles, a triple, 23 home runs and 104 RBI on 157 games. His career seemed to be moving in the wrong direction after that as he managed a .221 batting average in his next two seasons.

However, things turned around after a successful 2014 stint in Japan. McGehee returned to the Majors with the Marlins and hit .287 with 29 doubles, a triple, four home runs and 76 RBI in 160 games. That season earned him National League Comeback Player of the Year honors.

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Following that campaign, the 33-year-old was dealt to his hometown San Francisco Giants—and promptly struggled. McGehee batted .213 with seven runs scored, five doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI and a .275 on-base percentage with the Bay Area club. His slugging percentage was only .299 while his OPS sat at .575 over the span of 49 games.

He was cut and later re-signed by the Marlins, but failed to produce there as well. The former Rakuten Golden Eagle managed a .182 batting average in 60 games and struggled to drive in runs. McGehee posted a mere nine RBI and 20 total hits during his second spell with the Fish. His double and runs scored totals both sat at seven. He did steal a base, but was ultimately unable to regain the form he showed during his first stint with Miami.

All told, he hit .198 with 14 runs scored, 12 doubles, two home runs, 20 RBI, 21 walks and 50 strikeouts in 109 combined games for the Giants and Marlins in 2015.

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McGehee will provide extra infield depth for the Tigers at both corner infield positions. His signing obviously doesn’t threaten Miguel Cabrera or Nick Castellanos’ respective jobs, but it could make Andrew Romine expendable if McGehee can hit similar to the way he did in his first go around with the Marlins.