Keston Hiura of the Milwaukee Brewers at bat during the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at American Family Field on October 05, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Kayla Wolf/Getty Images)
Utility player Keston Hiura signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers on February 16, Evan Petzold, the Tigers beat writer for the Detroit Free Press reported.
Petzold reported on February 16 that Hiura will receive $2 million in incentives if he makes the opening day roster. Hiura was invited to big league spring training in Lakeland, Fla. with Detroit.
Hiura, 27, was born in Valencia, Calif., and has played four seasons in Major League Baseball with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2019-22. Hiura was drafted as the ninth overall pick in the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft from the University of California, Irvine and signed for $4 million on June 21, 2017 after his junior season.
Hiura made his MLB debut on May 14, 2019 with the Brewers after coasting through their farm system in his first two professional seasons.
Last season, Hiura played with Triple-A Nashville in the Brewers organization in 85 games with 367 plate appearances and batted .308 smacking 97 hits, 12 doubles, 23 home runs, 77 RBI, 31 walks, 90 strikeouts, and a .960 OPS. Hiura elected free agency on Oct. 4, 2023, prior to signing with the Tigers.
In 2022, Hiura played in 80 games with Milwaukee and hit .227 with 266 plate appearances, recording 53 hits, eight doubles, 14 home runs, 32 RBI, five stolen bases, 23 walks, 111 strikeouts, and a .765 OPS.
During the 2022 season, Hiura also split his time with Triple-A Nashville and Milwaukee. He played in 13 games in Nashville, hitting .319 with 59 plate appearances and 15 hits, one triple, six home runs, 18 RBI, nine walks, and 15 strikeouts.
Hiura’s only full major league season was in 2020, when he played in 59 games, hitting .212 over 246 plate appearances with 46 hits, four doubles, 13 home runs, 32 RBI, three stolen bases, 16 walks, 85 strikeouts, and a .707 OPS.
Over four seasons in MLB, Hiura has played in 284 games with a career average of .238 over 1,057 plate appearances with 223 hits, 44 doubles, four triples, 50 home runs, 132 RBI, 20 stolen bases, 78 walks, and a .771 OPS.
Hiura played in 28 games in left field and 23 games as the designated hitter for Nashville during the 2023 season.
Hiura will be battling with Kerry Carpenter, Matt Vierling, Colt Keith, and Zach McKinstry for a depth role in the Tigers’ infield to make the opening day roster for Detroit out of spring training.
The Tigers will play their first spring training game against the New York Yankees at home in Lakeland, Fla., at 1:05 p.m. EST on Feb. 24 at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. The Tigers will have their first full-squad workout on Feb. 19.