Gone but not forgotten: Upton is Tiger of the Year

Detroit — It’s probably a good indication the season went badly and the team has changed course when the Player of the Year recipient was traded with a month left in the season.

Such was the case for the 2017 Tigers.

Justin Upton, traded to the Angels on Aug. 31, was voted Tiger of the Year by the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Upton got 15 of 26 first-place votes. Nick Castellanos was second with seven first-place votes.

In 125 games with the Tigers, Upton produced 28 home runs, 37 doubles 94 RBIs, a .904 OPS and .542 slugging percentage.

He led the team in all those categories except RBIs (Castellanos had 101).

Defensively, he finished fourth in the American League in defensive runs saved.

The last three Tigers of the Year recipients were traded last season: J.D. Martinez (2015), Justin Verlander (2016) and Upton.

Twitter @cmccosky