Projecting a Tigers-Kevin McGonigle extension after long-awaited Opening Day news

Tigers No. 1 prospect Kevin McGonigle didn't just skip Triple-A to make Detroit's Opening Day roster; he'll be batting sixth in their lineup this afternoon. It's trial by fire for a guy that Baseball America is hyping up as baseball's best pure hitting prospect since Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

It took a while for the Tigers to officially announce the move, even though most fans suspected things were trending in McGonigle's favor. The hold-up can almost certainly be attributed to the fact that this was an incredibly uncharacteristic move for Detroit, who made even Colt Keith, their sole extension holder, spend a little while at Triple-A.

But it also got fans thinking ... could the Tigers be working toward an extension on the backend?

It wouldn't be unheard of, even for a team as cautious as the Tigers. They gave Keith an extension before he even got to his MLB debut.

If there is something brewing for McGonigle, there are a number of blueprints the Tigers can follow, and from last year alone.

It took the Red Sox less than 50 games to extend Roman Anthony on an eight-year, $130 million deal ($16.25 million AAV). If McGonigle has a comparably good start, that might be where the Tigers draw inspiration.

A Tigers extension for Kevin McGonigle could look a lot like Roman Anthony's deal with the Red Sox

Anthony's deal is heavily backloaded and buys out the first two years of his free agency with a club option in 2034, his age-30 season. He's making just $2.625 million this year, but will make a guaranteed $29.625 million in 2033 and could earn $30 million if the Red Sox pick up his option. With the way that position player contracts are trending, $30 million could be an absolute steal by 2034.

Both Anthony and McGonigle peaked at No. 2 in MLB Pipeline's top 100 rankings, but the hype for McGonigle might be even more substantial.

Eight years feels right, but the Tigers could give McGonigle $144 million, for an $18 million AAV, to surpass Anthony. If they structure it similarly to his contract, with exponential growth after 2028, it would give the Tigers a good roadmap for a new foundation of their payroll (Javy Báez comes off the books after 2027).

If the Tigers aren't going to extend or re-sign Tarik Skubal (and they're probably not going to), fans are begging them to take some of the money they'll "save" and actually do what they've always said they intend to do: develop stars and win with them. He hasn't swung a bat in a major league game yet, but McGonigle already looks like their best bet in years.