Detroit Tigers Path To Landing Bregman Becomes Clearer After Major Astros Trade
The Detroit Tigers could be one step closer towards landing their dream free agent target.
For a little while, it seemed the Tigers were out of it in the race for Houston Astros star third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency, but as the Winter Meetings raged on and Bregman remained unsigned, Detroit was named as one of the four finalists to land his signature.
Perhaps the biggest threat towards the pursuit was always a possible reunion with the Astros, but things appear to have changed on that front on Friday afternoon.
Houston sent away star right fielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for a package that included third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Weneski, and infielding prospect Cam Smith who has most of his experience at the hot corner as well.
With Tucker set to hit free agency next winter, it was unlikely the Astros were going to hand him the megadeal he will be looking to receive, so instead they shipped him out of town.
With a third baseman - possibly two - being acquired in the deal, as well as the fact that it appears Houston is beginning a rebuild, a Bregman return to the Astros just became a whole lot more unlikely.
If that is indeed the case, and Houston is no longer going to make a real effort to retain their franchise icon, it clears the path drastically for the possibility of Bregman coming to the Motor City and playing under his former manager A.J. Hinch.
The Tigers will still have competition for the nine-year veteran, though.
In fact, it's still going to be tough even if they are serious about landing him with the New York Yankees looking to make another major splash following being heavily involved in negotiations for Tucker but coming up short after losing the best hitter in baseball in Juan Soto to the New York Mets.
Bregman could be the perfect solution to the disappointing offseason it has been so far for the Yankees, and if they decide they are willing to pay up then there may not be much Detroit can do to match an offer.
Getting into a bidding war with New York is just not something that Scott Harris is going to do.
If Bregman comes to the Tigers, it will be on a deal that occurred after his market thinned out, so while it's still certainly possible, and just became a whole lot more plausible, don't rule out the possibility of the Evil Empire coming in and having their say first.
