Tigers Reportedly 'Lurking' For One Sought-After Free Agent This Offseason
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Last offseason, the Detroit Tigers made a run at free agent third baseman Alex Bregman. In the end, he picked the Boston Red Sox, but he opted out of his contract with two years and $80 million remaining to become a free agent.
Bregman will have some suitors this winter, but a lot of people think that he's going to sign back with the Red Sox.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Tigers could be lurking this offseason to sign the former Houston Astros corner infielder. Nightengale spoke with Bregman's agent, Scott Boras, about his client, who did what Scott Boras does: he pumped him up to get multiple teams in the mix.
“Certainly prior to ‘25 Boston has been a kind of a club that's been dunking well below the playoff line. So I think it was a bad roast in Beantown," Boras said. "Give the owners credit in ’25, they went out spent some star bucks to bring in a Bregman blend that led them to the playoffs. So I’m sure the Boston fans don’t want this to be just a cup of coffee, and no one wants a 'Breg-xit' ….
“When it comes to leadership, I don't know of any starting [active] position player who has been in the postseason eight consecutive years. … Bregman went in there with a lot of young players, and in a situation where they were finishing last in their division, and he went in there and created a culture."
Tigers Reportedly Lurking For Alex Bregman
Detroit going after Bregman again makes sense on multiple levels. There is the Houston connection with manager A.J. Hinch, but like Boston, the Tigers are set up to contend again in 2026 and possibly beyond.
Bregman, inserted into Detroit's lineup, would certainly give them a right-handed bat that they need.
With the Red Sox this past season, he slashed .273/.360/.462 with 18 home runs, 62 RBIs, and 28 doubles. He had the left-field wall at Fenway Park that he used to his advantage, but he did a good job of hitting to all fields. He finished with an .821 OPS, his highest since 2019 with the Astros.
He would also fill a need at third base for the Tigers, and if he could stay healthy, it would be a huge defensive addition. Hinch getting him to sign with Detroit may be the biggest offseason wild card and potentially blocking him from returning to Boston.
It would make sense if the Tigers were truly lurking for him. They would not only be adding a good player, but subtracting one from an American League contender with them.
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Scott Roche has covered both college and professional sports for nearly three decades for various outlets. Scott has covered the MLB, NHL, and college sports and he is someone always looking for a good rumor, no matter which sport it is.