For some good news in Detroit, the Tigers have signed Carlos Guillen to a 4-year contract worth $48 million dollars. This means that Guillen will be in Detroit through 2011 with a contract that appears to be below what could be brought on the open market. Michael Young of the Rangers recently signed a contract of 5 years $80 million which many assumed, myself included, blew a hole into Detroit’s ability to keep Guillen.
This also likely means that Guillen will be ending his career here in the big D and why not?
When Guillen was asked why a fourth year was so important to him, Dombrowski intervened by saying, “Yeah, why was it?”
“Because I want to finish here,” Guillen said. “I know this team is going to win for a long time. I want to bring a World Series ring to Mr. Ilitch (Tigers owner Mike Ilitch).”
The question this leaves is whether Guillen will be a shortstop for the entire four years since his abilities at the position are already declining. The Tigers don’t have a viable shortstop in the wings but they do at first base, in Chris Shelton, which is the possible other position mentioned for Carlos. Dombrowski is leaving the door open to anything:
“It wouldn’t shock me if he played shortstop another four years,” Dombrowski said, “but we also asked him if he’d be willing, later in the contract, to play another position and he said: “Anything to help.”
I, for one, am a big fan of this deal. Earlier in the offseason I worried that the Tigers would mortage their future with another huge contract leaving them with an inability to sign the many other youngsters coming through the ranks. I suggested a deal of 3 years with $8M a year which obviously wasn’t going to happen but this isn’t all to far behind. The contract breakout is thus, including this year which was from the previous contract:
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| $5M | $12M | $10M | $13M | $13M |
What’s after that? Well, Leyland has always said that of all the Tigers Carlos Guillen would make the best baseball coach. Maybe he can continue to try and teach some plate discipline here in Detroit?