Tigers' Playoff Hopes Depend on Winning Showdown Against the One That Got Away

The Detroit Tigers have to be asking themselves if they would be in this position had they been able to seal the deal last winter.

Sep 20, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman (2) runs to first base after hitting an rbi single against the Tampa Bay Rays in the fifth inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers finally snapped their eight-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday to pull even with them record-wise in the battle for the American League Central. Despite the victory, the Guardians still control the division for now as the Tigers prepare to head to Fenway Park to take on the Boston Red Sox.

The upcoming series has several juicy storylines. The Tigers can surpass the Red Sox in the AL wild card standings with a strong showing. Detroit could even overtake Cleveland to win the division crown outright. Moreover, this series has implications for other teams as well, since either Detroit or Boston could find themselves left out of the October bracket and let the Houston Astros back into the playoff picture with a poor showing.

One subplot that deserves more attention is how the Tigers will have to face off against Alex Bregman after he spurned their advances this past offseason in what will be a fight for their playoff lives.

Tigers Third Base Situation Has Been a Mess

Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Throughout the season, Detroit has used five different third basemen. The fewest games played belongs to Jace Jung with 18 and the most goes to Zach McKinstry with 78. Of the five, only one has posted a wRC+ over 100 while playing the hot corner, with that being 24-year-old Colt Keith. That said, Keith's defense has been brutal at third with minus-2 outs above average over 254.1 innings at the position, negating most of his offensive value.

All told, Tigers' third basemen have posted a 77 wRC+, ranking 26th in the league. The group's 11 homers rank 25th and its combined batting average of .223 ranks 27th. Combined, the motley crew has a 1.1 fWAR, which ranks 21st.

Bregman, meanwhile, has been a two-way star for Boston. Despite missing 43 games with a right quad strain, the former Astros star has posted a 125 wRC+ and 3.5 fWAR in just 113 games. Detroit knew third base was an issue, yet the front office did nothing to solve it at the trade deadline while several players who have exceled at the hot corner changed clubs.

Now, with their playoff lives hanging in the balance, the Tigers will stare down Bregman in their final series of the year. They'll have to hope that losing out on him and failing to address the position in any other meaningful way won't come back to bite them.

Meanwhile, Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley is predicting that Bregman opts out of his deal and signs with the Tigers in the upcoming offseason. Depending on how this weekend goes, that move might be one year too late if it comes to fruition at all.