Detroit, left fielder Justin Upton agree to 6-year deal worth $132.75 million

SD@LAD: Upton gets ejected following his strikeout
BaseballDetroit signs left fielder Upton to six-year, $132.75 million deal

The Detroit Tigers no longer have a weakness in left field.

Instead, they have a three-time All-Star, a 28-year-old in the midst of his prime and another big bat in the middle of the lineup.

According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the Tigers signed right-handed-hitting left fielder Justin Upton to a six-year, $132.75 million contract, pending a physical. The deal includes an opt-out clause after the second year. He will have an average annual salary of $22.125 million.

The Tigers will lose their second- and third-round draft picks this year because of the Jordan Zimmermann and Upton signings. They still have their first-round pick No. 9 overall.

Upton is a career .251 hitter with 190 home runs and 616 runs batted in in nine seasons. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. This past season, he hit .251 with 26 home runs and 81 RBI with the San Diego Padres.

The expensive agreement with Upton could put Detroit in a position to challenge World Series champion Kansas City, which dominated the AL Central last year after the Tigers had won the division the previous four seasons.

Detroit traded Yoenis Cespedes and David Price at the deadline, and then let general manager Dave Dombrowski go. Al Avila was promoted to Dombrowskis spot, and he has been aggressive in his first offseason in charge.

Family celebrates with Gordon

Dee Gordon put his signature on a $50 million, five-year contract with the Miami Marlins as more than a dozen relatives watched from the front row at a news conference Monday.

My family stuck with me through the hard times, Gordon said. Im glad theyre here for the good times.

The 5-foot-11 Gordon is a frustrated basketball player who switched to baseball and became a late bloomer. Last season, he led the National League in batting (.333), hits (205) and stolen bases (58), won a Gold Glove at second base and made the All-Star team.

It was his first year in Miami after he was traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers in a seven-player deal.

I instantly loved the way they treated me here, Gordon, 27, said. Signing an extension was pretty much a no-brainer.

The World Series champion Kansas City Royals finalized their $17.5 million, two-year deal with Lorenzo Cain, buying out the All-Star outfielders final two years of arbitration.

Cain, 29, will receive $6.5 million this season and $11 million next season.

College footballPortland State linebacker dies

Portland State linebacker AJ Schlatter, 20, died Sunday of a complication from what school officials termed minor throat surgery.

Schlatter, who was from Canby, Ore., started 10 games last year as a redshirt freshman and made 62 tackles. He came to Portland State as a walk-on and earned a full scholarship.

Portland State coach Bruce Barnum a former Eastern Washington linebacker said, We lost a diamond that will never be replaced. He was the definition of what we are about at PSU.

Arizona has agreed in principle to hire Boise State defensive coordinator Marcel Yates as its defensive coordinator.

Yates will replace Jeff Casteel, who was fired this month by coach Rich Rodriguez.

Yates was a defensive back at Boise State from 1996 to 99.

Indiana offensive lineman Dan Feeney said he will return to school for the 2016 season rather than entering the NFL draft.

The 6-foot-4, 310-pound guard has allowed one sack in 37 starts for the Hoosiers.

Auburn tailback Peyton Barber, a third-year sophomore, is leaving to enter the NFL draft.

Barber led the Tigers with 1,017 yards rushing.

GolfDonaldson injured by chain saw

Jamie Donaldson of Wales apparently will miss this weeks Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship because of a finger injury he said was caused by a chain saw.

Donaldson posted a graphic photo on Twitter of what seemed to be a laceration to the little finger on his left hand.

Above the image, the 40-year-old wrote: So folks in my time off decided to have a fight with a chainsaw and lost! Oops!! C u in Dubai.

The tournament reference appeared to be the Dubai Desert Classic, which starts Feb. 4.

SoccerBordeaux fans are banned

Bordeaux fans have been banned from attending this weekends French-league match at Nantes because of the risk of violence between hooligans.

Supporters of the teams have fought in the past.

Swansea moved out of the relegation zone after a 1-0 victory over visiting Watford in the English Premier League. Captain Ashley Williams scored in the first half.

ELSEWHERE

Vancouver Canucks center Henrik Sedin, 35, is not expected to return to the teams lineup until February.

Sedin suffered an upper-body injury in Sundays 2-1 shootout victory over the Islanders in New York.

Hopefully h**l be ready after the All-Star break (the All-Star Game is Jan. 31). I think its probably a 10-day injury or so, Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said.

Gulch, who won the 1988 Breeders Cup Sprint and was voted North Americas top sprinter for that year, died of complications from cancer Sunday at a farm in Georgetown, Ky. He was 32.

Gulch was the sire of Thunder Gulch, winner of the 1995 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.

Source: http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/family-celebrates-big-contract-with-dee-gordon-of-miami-marlins/