The Detroit Tigers signed Major League Baseball prospect Colt Keith to a six-year contract with $28.6 million worth of guarantees. The Tigers selected the second/third baseman in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Amateur Draft.
The Ohio native played high school baseball in Biloxi, Mississippi. He started his 2023 baseball journey with the Erie Seawolves in Double-A baseball, hitting .325 with 50 runs batted in and 14 home runs. That impressive run prompted his promotion to Triple-A’s Toledo Mud Hens, wherein he drilled 51 RBIs and 13 homers in 67 games.
The @tigers have extended Colt Keith, @MLBPipeline's No. 22 prospect.
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 28, 2024
Keith had a .932 OPS in 126 games across Double-A and Triple-A in 2023. pic.twitter.com/j14hmmIeop
Keith’s new contract with the Tigers has three team options that could generate up to $64 million in additional money over nine seasons. Some escalators could bump up the contract’s value to $82 million.
This year, Colt Keith will receive a $2 million signing bonus and a salary of up to $2.5 million. His base pay will increase to $3.5 million in 2025, $4 million in 2026 and 2027, and $5 million each in 2028 and 2029.
If the Tigers retain him on the roster, he can earn $10 million by 2030. That value increases to $13 million in 2031 and $15 million in 2032. The contract buyout for each year is $2.64 million, $1 million, and $2 million, respectively.
Keith started his professional baseball journey in 2021 with the West Michigan Whitecaps in High-A. He also played for the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the FCL Tigers, and the Salt River Rafters.
Getting all the options and escalators will put Keith’s contract on par with the guaranteed deal Jackson Chourio received from the Milwaukee Brewers.
-Lance Fernandez