The Detroit Tigers have missed out on Alex Bregman.
Bregman signed a three-year, $120 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, sources with knowledge of the agreement told the Free Press on Wednesday night. The deal with the Red Sox includes opt-out clauses after the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
The Tigers — led by president of baseball operations Scott Harris — made a competitive offer to Bregman: a six-year contract worth just more than $170 million (with some deferred money) and opt-out clause after the 2026 season.
Bregman picked the Red Sox over the Tigers.
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Without Bregman, the Tigers have left-handed hitter Jace Jung and right-handed hitter Matt Vierling as the projected third basemen on the 2025 Opening Day roster.
Bregman was the most coveted third baseman on the open market as one of the best all-around players in baseball, with the Tigers, Cubs and Red Sox as the finalists to sign him.
The biggest difference between the Tigers and Red Sox?
The Tigers offered just more than $28 million per season over six years, whereas the Red Sox offered $40 million per season over three years. Another factor: The Tigers included the opt-out clause after the 2026 season, whereas the Red Sox included the opt-out clause after the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Bregman, who turns 31 in late March, hit .260 with 26 home runs, 44 walks and 86 strikeouts across 145 games for the Houston Astros in the 2024 season. He has averaged 25 homers and 154 games over the past three seasons, posting a .798 OPS.
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Bregman spent the first nine years of his MLB career with the Astros, from 2016-24.
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“We’ve had numerous talks with teams and owners,” Scott Boras, Bregman’s agent, said Dec. 11 at MLB’s Winter Meetings, “and we all know what comes after an A (Alex) and a B (Bregman) is a C — champion. And in Bregman’s case, that’s C-squared. All of these teams realize what a leader he is and what a champion he is, plus his skill level. He’s very much in demand.”
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Bregman, a well-respected leader behind the scenes, is projected by FanGraphs to be worth 4.2 fWAR in the 2025 season, which would be his fourth consecutive year with at least 4.0 fWAR. He is one of just 11 position players to achieve at least 4.0 fWAR in each of the past three seasons, from 2022-24.
His combined 14 fWAR from 2022-24 ranked 18th among 230 qualified position players.
The Tigers have just two position players projected for more than 3.0 fWAR in 2025: left fielder Riley Greene (4.0 fWAR) and second baseman Gleyber Torres (3.0 fWAR).
It’s a big miss for the Tigers.
But the Tigers made a competitive offer to Bregman.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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