As the offseason drags into the New Year with many top free agent and trade candidates still on the market, the Boston Red Sox remain in the race to reunite with their 2025 third baseman and leader, Alex Bregman.
The longtime Houston Astro isn't the only player on Boston's list of remaining targets, and Bo Bichette and Ketel Marte present worthy backup plans. The Red Sox also aren't the only club among Bregman's top suitors, with the Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs bringing fierce competition. Luckily for them, one of the top candidates for his services last winter won't be a frontrunner yet.
According to a recent report from Evan Petzold of Detroit Free Press, the Detroit Tigers are waiting out Bregman's market (subscription required). The American League Central squad will wait for signs of collapse in the infielder's market before making a serious push for his services.
This could be great news for the Red Sox. Bregman admitted soon after he signed with Boston that he thought he would land in Detroit until just before his contract was finalized. The Tigers last winter were the only team that came close to meeting Bregman's contract demands in terms of years when they offered him a six-year, $171.5 million deal. He opted for the $40 million average annual value deal with the Sox instead.
Tigers waiting out Alex Bregman's market could have different outcomes for Red Sox
The Tigers' late entry into Bregman's market could also be dangerous for the Red Sox. Boston was hardly willing to compete for him last season when it offered just a three-year deal, and recent news that it doesn't believe in long-term contracts for players over the age of 30 doesn't inspire confidence that a reunion may be coming (subscription required).
If the Red Sox make another unimpressive offer — in the three or four-year range, for example — the Tigers will be there waiting. The Diamondbacks and Blue Jays are also quite threatening in his market, since Bregman lives in Arizona in the offseason and Toronto has already made so many improvements to its roster in the wake of its 2025 World Series loss, but he's been close to signing with the Tigers in the past.
Re-signing Bregman allegedly remains one of Boston's top offseason priorities and no other team should get in the way of its reunion. The third baseman would play a position of need for the Red Sox, he's a right-handed bat, possibly with 20-30 home runs in his arsenal, and he brings years of playoff experience that the team currently lacks. The Sox shouldn't make such a pitiful offer that the Tigers eventually have room to get involved, but they should be prepared for such a reality.