Detroit Tigers Insider Shares Encouraging Report On Alex Bregman Pursuit

The Detroit Tigers made their biggest move of the offseason to this point on Sunday night when they brought back Jack Flaherty on a two-year, $35 million deal.

After spending big on Flaherty and shoring up the starting rotation, potentially making it one of the best in baseball, the worry from Tigers fans was Detroit no longer being involved in the bidding for Houston Astros superstar third baseman Alex Bregman.

Theoretically, it makes a lot of sense given the money they committed to the pitching staff and traditional hesitancy to shell out huge amounts of money in the same free agency period.

That being said, all indications have been the Tigers being very much still a factor here in the Bregman sweepstakes. Immediately in reaction to the news, ESPN insider Buster Olney shared they are still involved.

Then, during a Tiger Territory podcast reacting to the Flaherty deal, Detroit insider Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic said there's a positive feeling around the building about the team's chances of bringing the two-time All-Star in.

"Tigers people seem to be feeling more optimistic," Stavenhagen said. "People I've talked to just seem to be in good moods the past few days...they seem to feel good about their offer."

Stavenhagen went on to reference the fact of the Astros re-engaging with Bregman and as a result things seemingly over with the Tigers, but noted there has been no movement between Houston and Bregman, with general manager Dana Brown even saying he had not yet spoken to super agent Scott Boras about his client.

If Detroit can add Bregman to an offseason acquisition collection including Flaherty along with Tommy Kahnle, Gleyber Torres, and Alex Cobb, this would likely be looked at as one of the strongest winters in the history of the franchise.

Of course, free agency victories don't mean anything if they don't pan out on the field, just ask Javier Báez about that. But there has not been more excitement around this team in a very long time, and an offseason which looked conservative as usual at a certain point has turned incredibly thrilling.

After dissatisfaction for weeks from fans following the Cobb deal looking like the biggest move, the Tigers have gone out and acquired Torres, Flaherty and Kahnle, with potentially more to come.

Whether or not they can actually land the star is another question, but for those hoping to see Detroit make some real improvements after their epic playoff run coming within a game of the ALCS, they have gotten their wish.

This is a new Tigers team, hungry to improve and take the next step from fun underdog story to legitimate World Series contender.

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