Tigers re-sign Bonderman

**Marklar MM** · 12-18-2006

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/NASApp...=.jsp&c_id=det

Bonderman agrees to four-year deal
After career season, young righty gets $38 million from Detroit

DETROIT -- The Tigers took their biggest step in signing their group of young stars to long-term contracts on Monday, agreeing to a four-year, $38 million deal with right-handed pitcher Jeremy Bonderman.

Amidst an offseason that has seen the price for starting pitching skyrocket on the open market, Bonderman's deal became an offseason priority after the 24-year-old put together three solid starts in the postseason. He went 14-8 with a 4.08 ERA in the regular season, pitching in a career-best 214 innings, while striking out 202 batters.

Bonderman's future was open to speculation, both in terms of a long-term contract or potentially an offseason trade, after he struggled down the stretch, going 6-4 with a 4.87 ERA in the season's second half.

However, he won three of his final four starts in the regular season, then held the Yankees to two runs over 8 1/3 innings in the decisive Game 4 of the AL Division Series. He followed that up with 6 2/3 quality innings against the A's in Game 4 of the ALCS, before allowing two runs over 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision in Game 4 of the World Series at St. Louis.

Originally a first-round draft pick by the A's in 2001, Bonderman had made history by being selected after his junior year of high school, thanks to obtaining a GED. The Tigers acquired him from Oakland a year later in the Jeff Weaver trade, then put him in their rotation out of Spring Training in 2003.

Bonderman took his lumps as a 20-year-old rookie, going 6-19 with a 5.56 ERA on a Detroit club that lost 119 games, but he has made steady progress throughout his big-league career. He posted his first winning season in 2005, going 14-13 with a 4.57 ERA, before this past season's success.

Though he has not yet emerged as a dominant pitcher, manager Jim Leyland said during the World Series that Bonderman needs only an effective changeup to reach that level, something that will be a priority in Spring Training.

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That said, the time to re-sign Bonderman was now. He was eligible for arbitration this winter and could have become a free agent after the 2008 season.

Bonderman's deal is the same length as that of Brandon Inge, who reached agreement with the Tigers on a four-year, $24 million contract earlier this month.