The Detroit Tigers just announced that LHP Nate Robertson has signed a three-year deal worth 21 M$ with the club.  From the press release:

"Nate has been a quality starter during his time with the Tigers,” Tigers President, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager David Dombrowski said.  “We are excited to sign Nate to a long-term contract and we look forward to him being part of our rotation for years to come.”

Acquired by the Tigers from the Florida Marlins in a five-player deal on January 11, 2003, Robertson has posted a 42-54 record and 4.53 ERA (824.1IP/415ER) in 136 outings (134 starts) with the Tigers.  He has averaged 6.18 strikeouts per nine innings during his time with the Tigers, eighth-best among all pitchers in franchise history with at least 800.0 innings pitched.

Robertson’s 134 games started are 10th-most among all left-handed pitchers in Tigers history.  He is 15th among all American League pitchers with the 134 games started since the start of the 2003 season."

With Robertson agreeing to terms on a three-year contract, the Tigers now have four starting pitchers signed or under control through the 2010 season  (Jeremy Bonderman, Robertson, Justin Verlander and Dontrelle Willis)."

The 30-year-old southpaw should occupy the fourth spot of the Tigers rotation in 2008, bringing a  three-pitch arsenal: fastball (90 mph), slider (83 mph) and change-up (83 mph).  He is a strike thrower that relies on contact and a good defense to succeed.  As expected from a lefty, he has posted better numbers against left-handed batters in his career (.248/.298/.340) than righties  (.281/.345/.470).

The Wichita native has been a workhorse for the AL Central team for the last four years, never throwing less than 177 innings during a season.  He has also been a model of consistency when it comes to performance, striking out on average 15% of batters for the last three season and never walking more than 8%.