Detroit Tigers Executive Says the Team Will Be ‘Just Fine’ Without Alex Bregman
The Alex Bregman saga is complete, and now the aftermath has begun to roll in with teams discussing their next moves, as well as planning for life without him. One of the teams among those that were in the running was the Detroit Tigers, who ultimately fell short despite offering a rather strong deal to him.
AJ Hinch also made it clear that the Tigers are moving forward from the saga, and are moving into the "next phase" of the offseason. This sentiment was repeated by the president of baseball operations for Detroit, Scott Harris.
In a long statement regarding Bregman going elsewhere, Harris stated that, "We want players who want to be here. I say it a lot because I mean it. We want players who want to be with the Tigers. We made a very compelling offer to Alex Bregman, but he chose to sign somewhere else. That's fine. We knew that was a possibility throughout the process, and we planned for that outcome."
He would go on further to mention Jace Jung, and stated that he, "deserved a lot of reps at this level." In addition, he brought up Matt Vierling and Andy Ibáñez, praising both as quality players.
He referenced the Jake Flaherty deal as one they did land, and made it clear that some deals will go their way, while others just do not, and that is part of the game.
The main part of the quote was his regard stating, "We're going to be just fine without Alex Bregman, and we still have a clubhouse that just got to the postseason and just beat a team with Alex Bregman, so it can clearly be done."
A little bit of a shot there at Bregman, and ultimately a clear indicator that this loss is not one they are going to be heavily reeling from, but rather used as an opportunity to let the young players get a chance and improve through development. The key for this team has been development and ensuring talent is given proper opportunities to play at the MLB level, and improve quickly.
While having someone in the room like Bregman would have helped with the development component as he could have taught the younger players, he would have taken playing time both in the field and at the plate away from one of the younger options.
This is one of the things that baseball teams have to weigh out and see which option is worth more to the future of the team, and ultimately Harris with the rest of the front office are choosing to look at it as an opportunity and not a pitfall.
