The Tigers held a press conference at 3 p.m. today to announce Justin Verlander has signed a five-year deal worth $80 million.
We will have more on this later when some quotes begin to come out. So far, all we have is a tweet from the official Twitter feed.
It's official, Justin Verlander signs for five more years with the Tigers. Verlander said he knows the Tigers are committed to winning.
Update 5 p.m.:
We have some salary figures. Responding to a question from Brian Packey, who comments here, MLB.com's Jason Beck reported on Twitter Verlander will earn:
- $6.75m in 2010
- $12.75m in 2011
- $20m in 2012
- $20m in 2013
- $20m in 2014
Update 9:30 p.m.
OK, now we've got a few stories and quotes from the press conference to share.
Dave Dombrowski:
"It's a very happy moment for the organization," team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "To me, he's one of the best pitchers in the game of baseball, and somebody that can anchor our staff here over the next five years with some other quality young pitchers. He puts us in position to trot out one of the best starting staffs in the game."
Justin Verlander:
"You know, when it comes down to it, I feel like I've grown up in this city," Verlander said. "I've made a name for myself here, and I love the old English 'D'. The fans have always supported me since Day 1. I think that means a lot. I feel at home here."
*snip*
"I certainly don't plan on my career being over in five years, so I hope to be around here a lot longer."
Links:
Lynn Henning and Tom Gage of the Detroit News
Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press
Matthew Carruth of Fangraphs.com
10:45 update
Fox Sports Detroit has the press conference video.