Robbie Grossman played only one season for A.J. Hinch in Houston in 2015, but the outfielder has a ton of respect for the former Astros manager. So when the new Tigers skipper talked with him about coming to Detroit, Grossman listened.

¡°I talked to him a few times. He let me know the direction you guys are going in,¡± Grossman said on a Wednesday afternoon video conference with reporters. ¡°I have the utmost respect for him and what he¡¯s done and how he goes about his business and just being a Tiger.¡±

Hinch¡¯s involvement was the reflection of what Grossman called an ¡°aggressive¡± recruitment of the free agent, culminating Tuesday in a two-year, $10 million contract. It¡¯s the first multi-year deal the Tigers have finalized with a free agent since Justin Upton¡¯s deal in January 2016. Hinch, Grossman said, was a ¡°huge reason¡± he decided to sign.

¡°We caught up and we talked a little bit about the team and our needs and going forward,¡± Grossman said. ¡°And I¡¯m all on board. I¡¯m ready to get started and ready to get down to Lakeland.¡±

It¡¯s not just familiarity. In many ways, Grossman fits the blueprint of how Hinch wants to improve a Tigers lineup that has led the league in strikeouts the last two years while struggling to draw walks. He brings the kind of tenacious at-bats Hinch has referenced multiple times since his hire on Oct. 30.

Grossman¡¯s .252 career batting average doesn¡¯t stand out, and his .241 average last year certainly doesn¡¯t. But his 21 walks in 51 games bumped up his on-base percentage to .344, while his eight home runs and 12 doubles in the abbreviated season resulted in a 130 OPS+.

¡°My ultimate goal is to have a quality at-bat, whether that¡¯s getting a hit, walking, hit-by-pitch or hitting a home run,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s quality at-bats in baseball and there¡¯s bad at-bats, and the more quality at-bats you have, the better off you are every night of winning a game.¡±

He¡¯s a different hitter than the one many might remember from his three years in Minnesota from 2016-18. His uptick in power was a reflection of pulling the ball more often, something he credits A¡¯s hitting coach Darren Bush and former Astros teammate Jed Lowrie with helping him achieve.

¡°He came to me,¡± Grossman said of Bush, ¡°and said, ¡®Hey, we¡¯ve seen how much you put into this. We know the kind of player you want to be. Here¡¯s what you need to do to become who you want to be.¡¯

¡°He really broke it down to the simplest thing for me. I had to use my legs more. I had to stay more balanced at the plate. I had to make my hands go linear to center field. And I kind of just ran with it. I want to be the best Major Leaguer I can be, and I continue to grow and continue to stay and learn as much as I can, soak up as much as I can to become that.¡±

While the Tigers made pitching their priority in this free-agent market, signing Jos¨¦ Ure?a last month, they quietly checked into the outfield market early on. Grossman was one of the outfielders at the top of their list, a 31-year-old switch-hitter with a track record but also with upside coming off one of the best seasons of his career.

He didn¡¯t face the Tigers last year, but he has a good amount of success against them. He¡¯s 8-for-27 with two home runs and six RBIs off new teammate Matthew Boyd, who reached out to him with a text message Tuesday night to welcome him to Detroit.

Grossman has also played enough at Comerica Park to know what an atmosphere it can be when the team¡¯s going well.

¡°My family¡¯s been to Detroit many times. I know what the team means to that city,¡± he said.

Put it all together, and Grossman was sold.

¡°They were very aggressive in letting me know that I was a guy that they really wanted,¡± Grossman said, ¡°and that meant a lot to me. ¡­ It¡¯s a privilege to be a six-plus-year free agent, and that the Tigers had that much confidence in me, and they proved it. Now it¡¯s my job to go out there and earn it every day.¡±