Detroit Tigers Reportedly Offered Alex Bregman Lucrative Contract
The Detroit Tigers have been linked to star third baseman Alex Bregman for most of the offseason. In fact, the Tigers were on the short list of teams he might sign with as of yesterday.
That all changed Wednesday night when the Boston Red Sox swooped in and agreed to a three-year, $120 million contract that has opt-outs after each season with the former Houston Astros third baseman, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
That's not great news for the Tigers who are coming off a 2024 playoff appearance and are positioned to take the next steps following their rebuild. Bregman would have given them the high-impact, middle-of-the-order bat they need to truly contend.
To make matters worse, Bregman seemingly turned down more money from Detroit compared to what he's going to get from the Red Sox.
According to Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press, they offered the star free agent a six-year contract worth just over $170 million. Some of that money would have been deferred to later years.
Petzold also stated that Bregman would have had a potential opt-outs after the 2026 season with the Tigers, something that seemed to be a sticking point since Boston gave him one after the first year of their deal.
That's an interesting decision for a player who will turn 31 in late March.
Bregman's best season came in 2019, where he posted an 8.4 WAR. That was good for second in the league as he was the runner-up to Mike Trout in the AL MVP. His second-best showing came the year before, where he finished with a 6.9 WAR.
The former Astros star has posted between a 4.1 and 4.9 WAR in each of the last three years. That's rock solid, but that also means he's six seasons removed from his most productive campaign.
The nature of the deal with the Red Sox looks like Bregman believes he can have another spike year, opt out, then land a final long-term pay day.
The alternative to that notion is the $40 million average annual salary Boston offered is much higher than anything anyone else put on the table.
Detroit's proposal would have averaged nearly $28.33 million per year, but with more money overall.
If that was the primary draw, the ability to opt out is just a perk that can be exercised in a best-case scenario.
From a pure financial standpoint, it's reasonable that Bregman took the shorter deal from Boston with the higher average annual salary.
The question then becomes could Detroit's front office have done more to land the big bat they need in the middle of their lineup?
They'll have to hope their inability to land Bregman doesn't cost themselves a shot at a championship.
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Ryan Reynolds has worked in sports media since 2019, where he’s primarily covered the NFL. He got his start writing for Evan Silva and Adam Levitan’s Establish the Run where Ryan became an authority on NFL awards markets. Ryan recently served as an Associate Director and content headliner for former NFL executives Joe Banner and Mike Tannenbaum at The 33rd Team. Ryan has also made multiple guest appearances on Fantasy Sports Radio on SiriusXM and VSiN. Outside of sports Ryan has a bachelor’s degree in accounting, graduating with honors from the University of Minnesota. He now has nearly a decade’s worth of experience in management. You can find Ryan on X @RyanReynoldsNFL or email him at RyanReynoldsNFL@gmail.com.