Detroit Tigers May Pivot to Blockbuster Trade for Future Hall of Famer

The Detroit Tigers have a different third base solution right in front of them.

Jun 22, 2021; Detroit, Michigan, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) makes a throw to first base for an out during the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. | Raj Mehta-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers suffered the devastating, yet somewhat inevitable, blow on Wednesday when Alex Bregman finally agreed to a deal elsewhere via a lucrative short-term agreement with the Boston Red Sox.

Reportedly in it until the end, the Tigers made a very competitive offer for six years and worth in the range of $170 million.

Instead, he signed a deal with the Red Sox at a significantly higher AAV, paying the two-time All-Star $120 million over just three years that contains two opt outs.

For weeks, it was said Detroit had the best offer on the table, but when he didn't sign, it seemed clear he desired to play elsewhere.

Now in an interesting pickle, the Tigers are likely set to deploy some sort of combination of Matt Vierling and potentially Jace Jung at the hot corner.

But there is another option out there if they're determined to bring in a veteran.

Throughout the offseason, the St. Louis Cardinals have been trying to dump the contract of eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove-winning third baseman Nolan Arenado. The Cardinals are rebuilding and he is still owed $64 million over the next three years - though a portion of that is still being covered by the Colorado Rockies.

At a fraction of both the total cost and length Bregman would have presented had he accepted the deal from Detroit, Arenado could make a lot of sense and would not command any sort of major trade package.

While appearing on the MLB Network on Thursday morning, baseball insider Jon Morosi named the Tigers as one of the teams to watch as negotiations for Arenado heat up.

"If they were willing to engage at that level for Bregman, then certainly they would have enough payroll flexibility to add at least a portion of Arenado's salary," he said. "The Tigers and the Yankees to me are the two teams I am watching on a possible Nolan [Arenado] deal if not in the coming days, then sometime before Opening Day."

If the Tigers are bidding against the New York Yankees, they may be in a significantly better spot.

The Yankees have stated openly they are having payroll issues and seem determined to enter the season with their current situation after sitting out the Bregman sweepstakes.

Detroit, on the other hand, has the flexibility to take on a significant chunk of Arenado's salary.

The fit would be perfect since he's the same type of veteran presence Bregman would have brought, and Arenado is still one of the best third basemen in the last generation even if his numbers have begun to dip.

Bregman is the better and younger player, but he isn't twice the player Arenado is, and the latter comes at half the cost.

The veteran does have a full no-trade clause in his deal which he exercised earlier this offseason to nix a deal to the Houston Astros, so he would have to be convinced to come to the Motor City.

The Tigers offer Arenado a chance to win now, something which would be attractive to any player at the stage of his career the 33-year-old is in.

Keep an eye on Detroit as potentially one of the only destinations that makes sense if Arenado is dealt this winter.