Tigers Rank High on Trade Landing Spots for Red Sox All-Star Slugger
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This past offseason, the Detroit Tigers had a few areas of weakness they were looking to address.
Amongst them was their lineup, where they tried to add more pop after relying heavily on elite pitching performances in 2024 to carry the load.
One of the players the team pursued was third baseman Alex Bregman.
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The Houston Astros star would have been a great fit for the Tigers given his relationship and history playing under A.J. Hinch, who was with the Astros for the first four seasons of Bregman’s career.
Bregman would have been the perfect addition to a club looking to take that next step toward contention. Their run to the playoffs in 2024, snapping a nine-year drought, was unprecedented, and the two-time All-Star would have helped legitimize the team.
Ultimately, he decided to sign with the Boston Red Sox, but missing out on him hasn’t hurt the team much.
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At 53-32, the Tigers have the best record in the American League and are bona fide World Series contenders.
However, there is still a void that needs to be filled at third base, where former top prospect Jace Jung has not panned out as well as the team had hoped.
Veteran utility man Zach McKinstry is putting together a career year, but deploying him at third base every day minimizes his greatest strength, which is his versatility.
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Could Detroit circle back and look to acquire Bregman again?
Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report certainly believes it is a possibility, placing the Tigers at No. 3 in his ranking of potential trade suitors for the star third baseman.
What could a deal between the two sides look like?
Rymer has pitched a hypothetical offer of Bregman going to Detroit in exchange for veteran starting pitcher Alex Cobb and star prospect Josue Briceno.
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Parting ways with Cobb, who signed a one-year, $15 million deal this past winter and has yet to appear in a game, would be the easy part.
Moving on from Briceno would be a tougher sell given his breakout performance at the Arizona Fall League that has continued into this season . He has a .994 OPS with 14 home runs through 50 games at High-A West Michigan, debuting on a few top 100 prospect lists this year.
Trading a player of caliber for what could be a rental is a difficult decision to make, but the Tigers' title chances are legitimate.
Improving those odds by acquiring an experienced champion such as Bregman cannot be passed up.
Detroit has an incredibly deep farm system they should not be afraid to dip into it if it means improving the Major League roster.
For more Tigers news, head over to Tigers On SI.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.