The Detroit Tigers have signed former Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison pending physical, according to a report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Financial details of the deal are not yet available, but Harrison is expected to be the team’s every day second baseman. Throughout the offseason, Niko Goodrum has been presumed to be the Tigers’ everyday second baseman in 2019. With the signing of Harrison, however, Goodrum will likely return to being the team’s go-to utility player this season. It remains to be seen what this acquisition will mean for Tigers second base prospect Dawel Lugo, acquired in the J.D. Martinez trade in August 2017, not to mention other infielders like Ronny Rodriguez, Gordon Beckham, and Brandon Dixon. While Harrison only played 97 games in 2018, he was a cornerstone in the Pirates infield in his eight seasons in Pittsburgh, especially as the team’s everyday second baseman from 2014 to 2018. Harrison’s best season came in 2014, when he posted 4.8 fWAR, but his second-best season — a 2.8 fWAR 2017 campaign — came only two years ago. He is a career .277/.317/.408 hitter, and has been worth 11.2 fWAR in his career. Last season’s .250/.293/.363 performance (a 78 wRC+) was Harrison’s worst since 2012, though an early hand injury may have affected him throughout the year. Unfortunately, the strongest memory most Tigers fans will have of Harrison is not a happy one. Harrison’s ninth-inning single on May 18, 2012 spoiled what would have been the third no-hitter of Justin Verlander’s career. Here’s hoping for some similarly pesky at-bats from Harrison in 2019.<doc-sep>SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 09: Second baseman Josh Harrison #5 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws to first base but is unable to get the out of Evan Longoria #10 of the San Francisco Giants in the ninth inning at AT&T Park on August 9, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) The AL Central is loaded with teams that are destined to disappoint. From the massive sell-off in Cleveland to the team in Chicago that couldn’t sign that $300-million guy. But, the Detroit Tigers have actually done something to make the division and the team more interesting. The Detroit Tigers added an acrobatic, base-stealing second baseman named Josh Harrison. And, with Harrison comes fun. According to Ken Rosenthal and many other sources, the Tigers have signed Harrison to a one-year deal. As always, it is pending a physical: Free-agent infielder Josh Harrison in agreement with the #Tigers on a one-year contract, pending physical, source tells The Athletic. Expected to their everyday second baseman. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 20, 2019 Harrison will join his long-time double-play partner Jordy Mercer, who was signed to play shortstop earlier in the off-season. Tigers fans have had some experience watching Mercer and Harrison over the years, but seeing them daily will add some fun to the game. MLB Cut4 shared some of Harrison’s highlights from his time with the Pirates, showcasing his acrobatic skills on the bases. Take a look via MLB: Harrison is also well-known in Tigers circles for a dubious honor: breaking up a Justin Verlander no-hitter at Comerica Park on May 18, 2012. Harrison was the DH and lead-off batter. Now that Verlander is with the Astros, maybe Harrison can repeat his good fortune? He has hit .267 against Verlander in 15 at bats. Verlander has only struck him out once. (Just in case you were wondering…) Prior to signing Harrison, the big question was who would man second base? The rumored answer was either Niko Goodrum or Dawel Lugo. Goodrum debuted with the Tigers last season and excelled as the super-utility man, playing every spot except catcher, center field, and pitcher. Goodrum quickly became a fan favorite with his clutch hits and agile defensive work. Lugo saw a few games with the Tigers, but spent the majority of the season with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens at second base. He was acquired in the J.D. Martinez trade with the Arizona D-Backs. Harrison’s career stats are worth noting. In eight seasons, he has a career slash of .277/.317/.408. He does not strikeout often and he walks even less. He’s not a big power hitter, and only had eight home runs in 2018. He did miss about a month of playing in 2018 after he suffered a broken hand in April after being hit by a pitch. Tigers fans are used to seeing outstanding middle infielders. In the 80s, we had Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker. Most recently, we had the pleasure of watching Jose Iglesias and Ian Kinsler dominate on defense. Mercer and Harrison should continue that tradition. Harrison has been to two All-Star Games – he’s got to get to a few more to catch up to Kinsler’s four. But two is nothing to complain about. Want your voice heard? Join the Call To The Pen team! Write for us! This signing is a good thing for the fans, who will quickly come to appreciate the way that Harrison plays the game. Welcome to Detroit, J-Hay!<doc-sep>Lakeland, Fla. — When shortstop Jordy Mercer first showed up at TigerTown after signing a one-year, $5.25-million contract, he wondered who his double-play partner would be. After all, in his first seven seasons in the big leagues he played with just two full-time second basemen with the Pirates —Neil Walker and Josh Harrison. Well, he may still only know two double-play partners. Looks like he's going to be reunited with Harrison. The Tigers and the 31-year-old Harrison agreed on a one-year deal, pending a physical examination, Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network and The Athletic reported. National baseball writer Jon Heyman reported the deal is worth a base salary of $2 million, with another $1 million possible in incentives. The Tigers have yet to confirm it, though they rarely do before the medicals are complete. Harrison, who was used as a utility player until Walker left, partnered with Mercer in Pittsburgh the last three seasons. In his eight seasons with the Pirates, Harrison slashed .277/.317/.408 with a .725 OPS. He was a two-time All-Star (2014, 2017). His best season was in 2014, when he hit .315 with 13 home runs, 52 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases. A left hand injury has cost him chunks of playing time the last two seasons, which is why the medicals are significant. He was limited to 97 games last season and his production was down — .250/.293/.363. Tigers fans might remember Harrison. He's the guy who broke up Justin Verlander's no-hit bid in May 2012. Verlander was two outs away from his third career no-no when Harrison notched a sawed-off single to spoil it. Assuming Harrison is healthy and productive, he was signed to be the everyday second baseman. The fallout from that affects three players, primarily. Niko Goodrum, who was the front-runner to be the everyday second baseman, will now serve in a full utility capacity — which is what the Tigers' preference was all along. Veteran Gordon Beckham, signed to a minor-league contract and invited to camp to compete with Goodrum, is now in limbo. He made it clear earlier this week that spending another year bouncing between Triple-A and the big leagues was not his preference. He even said he would consider retiring if that ended up being the case. Lastly, the move means prospect Dawel Lugo, who debuted last season, will get another season of seasoning at the Triple-A level. The Tigers might not be done. Earlier Wednesday, before news of the Harrison signing came out, Tigers general manager Al Avila hinted the Tigers might be dipping back into the free-agent market. “There’s a possibility,” he said. “You never know. We’re just always open to seeing how we can make ourselves better in different areas. But that’s pretty much it.” He wouldn’t go any deeper into the subject, but manager Ron Gardenhire has mentioned the possibility of bringing more players into camp. “There’s guys out there that we’ve talked to before who still don’t have a job,” Gardenhire said. “And we have a few needs here, still. We’re still looking for pieces. We’re not completely set. It could happen, yeah.” Gardenhire said one of the areas of need was veteran depth at first base. Miguel Cabrera has been the only true first baseman working drills over the first two days of spring camp. The others taking reps are multi-positional players — John Hicks, Brandon Dixon, Ronny Rodriguez, Goodrum and Dustin Peterson. And over the winter, the Tigers had at least some conversation with nine-year veteran first baseman Logan Morrison, 31, who played for the Twins last season. He remains unsigned. Hanley Ramirez, Matt Holliday and Evan Gattis are three other unsigned veterans who play first base. Gattis is also a catcher. The Tigers also sent scouts to watch a showcase put on by 36-year-old Adrian Gonzalez last month. The scouts came away feeling the 15-year veteran with 317 career home runs and 1,202 RBIs could contribute in 2019. He also has a long history with Avila. It was Avila, then an assistant to Dave Dombrowski in Florida, who pushed to take Gonzalez with the first overall pick in 2000. “If there are some people out there who could help us, then absolutely,” Gardenhire said. “We’re still talking to players and their agents. There’s a lot of good players out there, whether we do something or not. “We know what we have as far as the budget. They have to come to our terms now.” Morrison hit 38 home runs and knocked in 85 with the Rays in 2017. His production waned last season, .186 with 15 homers. “We have depth problems, and we’d like to maybe create a few more fights out there for a position,” Gardenhire said. “If there’s people still out there, and there are, that we can bring in here and push the envelope with, that’d be fun. “Saying we will, there are no guarantees. And saying we won’t, there’s no guarantees. They are out there. We’re talking to them, just like every other team.” chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com Twitter: @cmccosky<doc-sep>The Detroit Tigers and veteran infielder Josh Harrison have agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal, a source confirmed to ESPN's Jeff Passan. The Athletic was first to report the deal Wednesday. Harrison, a two-time All-Star, became a free agent when the Pittsburgh Pirates declined a $10.5 million option on his contract in November. Harrison, 31, had spent his entire eight-year career with Pittsburgh, batting .277 with 52 home runs.<doc-sep>
LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers have a new second baseman. The team is closing in on a one-year contract with Josh Harrison, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The deal was first reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The terms of the deal are unknown. Harrison, 31, is a two-time all-star with the Pittsburgh Pirates (2014, 2017). In eight seasons, he is a .277 hitter with 52 home runs and 269 RBIs. He gives the Tigers a much-needed veteran presence in the middle of the diamond. With his arrival, the Tigers will move Niko Goodrum into a utility man role. This also likely eliminates their need for another free agent first baseman. Manager Ron Gardenhire said on Wednesday afternoon that the team was looking to add more depth at first base. Last season, Harrison hit .250 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs in just 97 games, the fewest number of games he played since 2013. He made one trip to the disabled list last season with a fractured left hand. He had a .982 fielding percentage at second base last year and has a career on-base percentage of .317. Harrison is known as a hard-nosed player and if he performs well, could be an option for contenders at the trade deadline. In Detroit, he will be reunited with his double-play partner from the Pirates, Jordy Mercer, his teammate for seven seasons. Harrison is from Cincinnati and was drafted by the Cubs in the sixth round of the 2008 MLB draft. He will be counted on in much the same role as Mercer, serving as stability in the middle of the infield on a young team. Contact Anthony Fenech at afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.