Moore in 2011. (AP photo by Tony Gutierrez)

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DETROIT -- Eight years ago, Matt Moore was listed among baseball's mega prospects. His peers were Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.

Today, Trout is on a path to Cooperstown. Harper and Machado are aiming for $400 million contracts.

Moore, on the other hand, is the Tigers' newest reclamation project, having agreed to a one-year deal this week for about $2.5 million. (The team has not yet announced the signing, pending a medical check).

Moore no longer occupies the same stratosphere as Trout, Harper and Machado, but he's still only 29 and his career is still kicking after a series of injuries and struggles derailed his early glimmers of stardom.

If all goes as planned, he'll start the season as the Tigers' No. 5 starter. If he pitches well, he can be shopped at the trade deadline. If he struggles, he can be pushed to the bullpen to make way for a young starter.

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Mike Fiers (AP photo by Paul Sancya)

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A year ago, the Tigers spent a combined $10 million to pick up two veteran pitchers from the free-agent bargain bin.

Mike Fiers and Francisco Liriano combined to give the Tigers 48 starts and 252 innings, and the Tigers even managed to flip Fiers for a modest return last August.

The Tigers hope Moore can offer something similar. If he does, he'll re-enter free agency next winter with a chance to land a bigger contract -- although perhaps a tad smaller than the ones signed by Harper and Machado.

Here are six things to know about the Tigers' newest pitcher:

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More pitching in the ALDS in 2011 (AP photo by Tony Gutierrez)

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1. He grew up in a military family.

Moore was born in Florida, spent part of his childhood in Japan and went to high school in Moriarty, N.M., a suburb of Albuquerque.

He had committed to follow his older brother Bobby to play at the University of New Mexico, but signed for a $115,000 bonus with the Tampa Bay Rays after being drafted in the eighth round in 2007.

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Moore against the Tigers in 2012 (AP photo by Carlos Osorio)

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2. He quickly climbed the prospect ladder.

Moore started his career under the radar, but a dominant showing in rookie ball captured everyone's attention in 2008. He showed no signs of slowing as he climbed the organizational ladder over the next three seasons, averaging at least 12 strikeouts per nine innings at each level.

By 2011, when he tossed a no-hitter for Double-A Montgomery, he was a bonafide mega prospect. The 2011 MLB.com Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year was ranked behind only Trout and Harper.

He burst onto the big-league scene in 2011.

Moore got his first taste of the big leagues when he was called up to Tampa late in 2011. He pitched in only three games, but struck out 15 batters in nine innings. That was enough to earn a start in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.

Moore pitched seven innings to lead the Rays to a 9-0 win over the Texas Rangers. It was their only victory of the postseason.

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AP photo by LM Otero

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3. He signed a long-term deal early in his career.

Still fresh from the euphoria of his 2011 debut, Moore signed a long-term deal with the Rays that winter.

Many criticized the deal as being overly team-friendly, but Moore said he wanted to mitigate the risk of injury. Having signed for a relatively small bonus, the security of a long-term was appealing.

The deal came to an end this winter when the Rangers declined to exercise his contract option and instead paid him a $750,000 buyout. Over seven seasons, he earned about $28 million on that original contract that was signed after he had only made two big-league starts.

Everything was rosy in the early years until injury hit.

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4. Tommy John surgery derailed his career.

In 2012 and 2013, Moore was showing every sign of growing into a bonafide No. 1 starter in the big leagues. He went 17-4 with a 3.29 ERA in 2013, earning his lone All-Star appearance and finishing in the top-10 in the Cy Young voting.

But during a start in April of 2014, he felt a twinge in his elbow. A visit with Dr. James Andrews was inconclusive, as the ligament was not completely torn, but Moore ultimately opted for surgery.

He would miss the better part of two seasons and the injury would mark a turning point in his career.

Before Tommy John surgery, Moore went 29-17 with a 3.53 ERA (3.92 FIP) over 347 innings, striking out 8.8 batters per nine innings and walking 4.3.

After the surgery, he's gone 25-39 with a 5.22 ERA (4.64 FIP) over 537 innings, with 7.7 strikeouts and 3.4 walks per nine innings.

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5. Things were looking up in 2016.

Moore made his first start after surgery on July 2, 2015, but was sent to the minor leagues for more work after struggling. But he started to turn things around late in 2015 and carried the momentum into 2016.

The Rays traded him to the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline for Matt Duffy and two young prospects.

Moore finished 2016 with an 11-9 record and 3.58 ERA in his final 23 starts (after June 1), averaging more than six innings per outing.

On Aug. 25, he even took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Dodgers. A two-out, bloop-single knocked him out of the game just short of the milestone after he had thrown a career-high 133 pitches.

Moore started Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the Cubs, striking out 10 and allowing only one earned run in eight innings against the Cubs.

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AP photo by Julie Jacobson

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6. The last two seasons have been ugly.

Moore went 6-15 with a 5.52 ERA for the Giants in 2017, but they gave him a vote of confidence in September by exercising his $9 million contract option for 2018.

A few months later, they had changed their mind, sending him to the Texas Rangers for two low-rated prospects.

Moore started the 2018 season in the rotation but was quickly moved to the bullpen. He posted the worst season of his career, going 3-8 with a 6.79 ERA in 102 innings.

The Rangers declined to exercise the final option year of his contract ($10 million) and instead paid him a $750,000 buyout.

Finally, years after signing a long-term deal as a young phenom, Moore was a free agent.

Now he's a Tiger, and his next chapter is still to be written.