3 reasons to be happy the Detroit Tigers extended Colt Keith before MLB debut

Detroit Tigers fans should be thrilled about the Colt Keith deal.

The Detroit Tigers went against the grain with one of their recent moves, and fans should be absolutely thrilled. The Tigers went out and extended Colt Keith to a six-year deal worth $28.6425 million. It's a deal that makes some history, not just for Detroit.

Teams seldom shell out cash on multi-year deals like this to lock up their youngsters. However, in today's game, it's happening a bit more. The Detroit Tigers signed Keith, making him the seventh player to get a deal like this, which we'll hit on later.

But Keith's the second prospect to sign before spring training this year, forgoing their arbitration years in lieu of these deals. The Milwaukee Brewers did this with Jackson Chourio, locking him up on an eight-year, $82 million contract as they contend in the National League Central.

But, for the Tigers, there's much to be said about this deal. The reaction should be positive, and the Tigers' faithful should look forward to what Keith can do in the next six years. There's more than meets the eye, even if it already looks good for the Tigers.

Detroit needs to be ecstatic that Keith will get a chance to carve out his career and likely make his big-league debut in 2024, joining the team's core. This deal keeps him in Detroit until he is 30 years old, and while they are forgoing six years of team control, it could be worth it in the long run.

Let's talk through a couple of reasons why the signing of Colt Keith is absolutely huge for the Detroit Tigers.

2. Colt Keith could help solidify the core with Riley Greene & Spencer Torkelson.

As the Detroit Tigers get going with the 2024 season, expect Keith to get his first taste of the big leagues. It would mean a lot for the Tigers to solidify a core moving forward. They have some key pieces beyond the two mentioned in the header above, but they make up the Tigers' core duo moving forward.

On that note, Keith is hoping to come out and perform well. He's swung the bat exceptionally well at all levels and continued to move through the Tigers organization quite well. There's got to be hope for Keith to handle the bat well with the Tigers and make some noise.

If he is able to do that, Keith would be able to settle in at second or third for Detroit and become a true piece of the puzzle. It would be a huge step forward for Detroit. This rebuild needs to be expedited, and a big rookie campaign would help Keith start to make him part of the Tigers lineup.

It's something that should also leave Tigers fans excited for what's to come in 2024. It's early to jump to conclusions on what might happen, but fans should be looking forward to seeing how Keith factors into the lineup.

3. An excellent first year of this contract reaps benefits beyond the field.

Speaking of making himself part of the core, success from Keith in year one with the Detroit Tigers would allow them to add some draft capital for 2025 for free. Since Detroit only has two picks in the Top 50 in 2024, some extra high draft picks in 2025 would be nice as a supplement to the farm system.

For those of you scratching your head, the league has implemented new rules and promotions for teams, enticing them to avoid leaving players for years and years, which was the scenario for most of the last decade. The Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) allows players who may win Rookie of the Year (ROTY) to earn their team an amateur draft pick, which is in a special "round between the first and second rounds and is viewed as part of Day 1 of the First-Year Amateur Draft.

Players who finish in the running for the ROTY award and qualify for PPI will also earn their team a pick, but it will be in the international draft. On top of that, if Keith can finish in the top three for voting for the MVP award, he could earn a pick in that compensation round.

It's bold to predict Keith to go out and win a ROTY award, but it sure would be incredible for Keith to break into the league and establish himself in year one.... and.... earn the Tigers some extra draft capital.