Why GM Doug Free’s $25M contract is a big deal

The Tigers’ Doug Free is one of the highest-paid players in baseball, and he is being paid for his work on the field.

But with free agency looming, Free is facing a lot of scrutiny.

Here’s what you need to know about Free’s deal.

1.

Free’s contract is worth $25 million per year.

That’s the amount that would be guaranteed for Free to stay in Detroit, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney.

2.

Free will not be offered a new contract by the Tigers.

Instead, he will have a “one-year option” to stay through 2021.

3.

Free made $5 million this year before hitting free agency.

He can make another $7 million this offseason and another $5.5 million next season.

Free is making a good amount of money, but he is also entering his age-34 season.

4.

Free has the third-highest batting average in the AL this year, behind only Alex Gordon and Bryce Harper.

5.

Free also is third in on-base percentage (.412) and third in slugging percentage (.724).

6.

He has a career .324 batting average with 14 home runs.

7.

Free ranks among the top five hitters in OPS (.827) and slugging (.722).

8.

He is batting .311 with six home runs and 38 RBIs.

He’s the only player in MLB history to bat .310 or better with a career-high 27 homers and 30 RBIs in each of his first four full seasons in the league.

9.

Free leads all active players with 20 home runs in 2016.

He also leads all players with 38 RBI and 25 stolen bases.

10.

Free led the majors in stolen bases last season and has 19 this season.

He leads the majors with 17 stolen bases in 2016, with just two stolen bases this year.

11.

Free had the fifth-highest OPS in the majors last season, trailing only Gordon (.923), Harper (.939), Josh Donaldson (.962) and Chris Davis (.925).

12.

Free and his teammates led the AL in OPS (1.531), OPS+ (1,016) and OPS+/+ (1) in 2016 — ranking second in the game behind only the Red Sox’s Xander Bogaerts (.937).

13.

Free posted a .934 OPS in 2016 despite playing a career low number of games.

He led the league in OPS+ in 2016 and has an OPS+ of 1,023 this season, ranking third among players.

14.

Free owns a career OPS+ rating of +9.9.

15.

Free hit a career high .327 in 2016 after hitting a career best .313 last season.

16.

Free became the first player in the past 25 years to hit .300 with 30 home runs, 50 RBIs and 100 stolen bases while leading the league with 22 home runs while playing in only two games.

17.

Free was the only Tiger to have a 100-hit season.

18.

Free played in just 25 games last season after batting .278 with 12 home runs over his first three seasons in Detroit.

19.

Free, 32, has a .299 batting average and .429 on-field percentage this season and is batting a career worst .300.

20.

Free batted .273 with four home runs this season for the Tigers, including a careerhigh five doubles.

He had seven hits and two RBIs with a season-high seven walks.

21.

Free won the NL MVP award and the American League MVP award this season despite playing in just 42 games.

22.

Free ranked among the league leaders in on base percentage (.918), slugging percent (.734), OPS (.894) and SLG (.729).

23.

Free finished the season batting .318 with 11 home runs on the season, including nine homers and nine RBIs while leading all NL players with 30 RBI and 26 stolen bases on the year.

24.

Free recorded a career year in the field by hitting .317 with 15 home runs last season while leading Major League hitters in slugged percentage (.783).

25.

Free ended the year with a .318 batting average.

He hit .303 in 2016 but has been a .301 hitter in 2017.

26.

Free added 15 home run and 36 RBIs this season to lead the AL. 27.

Free now has the most career home runs (129) by a Tigers player.

28.

Free joins the franchise’s 100-game hitting streak for the second time in franchise history.

29.

Free drove in a career game-winning run on Aug. 6.

30.

Free started every game for the first time in his career in August, hitting .321 with three home runs against the Phillies.

31.

Free went 2-for-4 with a walk in the Tigers’ 10-7 victory over the Astros in the World