Last Wednesday, later into the evening, we got word Alex Bregman had signed a 3-year, $120 million dollar deal with the Red Sox. 

As a Tigers fan, the news sucked. It seemed Bregman would be the perfect fit for the 2025 Tigers with third base being the team’s more glaring need. But alas, we persist. Let’s talk about how Bregman WOULD HAVE fit perfectly at Detroit’s hot corner, and, now that he’s headed to Beantown, what the position looks like in the Motor City. 

Alex Bregman is obviously a stud, just look at the back of his baseball card. MLB Network recently just ranked him as the 37th best player in the game today heading into the 2025 season. He has never had an OPS+ below league average in his career, averaging close to one walk per every strike out at the plate, plays gold glove caliber defense, and is the definition of a dirt dawg. In every season that Bregman has played over 100 games, he has never hit less than 19 home runs (peaking at 41 homers in one of his two all star seasons in 2019). Bregman has accumulated 39.6 wins above replacement (WAR) in his 9 year career. He has won multiple World Series titles in Houston, and would slot in perfectly at third base for the Tigers at a true position of need. He is a known leader in the clubhouse as many Astros beat writers have alluded to, and would be a much needed piece to the puzzle here with the Tigers having the youngest roster in the 2024 postseason.

The Tigers do not have a true third base option on their current roster, there are four square pegs trying to be mashed into a round hole with Matt Vierling, Jace Jung, Andy Ibanez and Zach Mckinstry as alternatives. Vierling is a very solid MLB regular (16 homers and an OPS of .725 in 2024), not a stud but a very capable MLB contributor on a daily basis. He plays passable(?) defense there, but is better served as an outfielder. Jace Jung is a solid prospect coming up that also has some pop (44 homers in 253 minor league games, projected 2.5 WAR by ZIPS in 2025), but he is a second baseman being forced into playing third base. He can play a solid second base, but does not have the arm nor quick enough first step to last as a MLB caliber third baseman (rated as one of the worst defenders in MLB at third base with -3 outs above average). Andy Ibanez is primarily a lefty masher and utility player, and Zach Mckinstry is a utility player that really is only on the roster for his glove and speed on the bases honestly. None of these current roster options really wow you as a fan.

The Tigers farm system is not really deep at third base options either. Hao Yu Lee could likely see some time at third base this year in Toledo. He is a solid prospect but similar to Jung, is a second baseman being possibly shifted to third base. Rising star prospect Kevin McGonigle is sticking at short stop for now, but maybe a move to third base could be in his future? Time will tell there (ideally he sticks at short though). Eddys Leonard will likely get some reps in Toledo to start the year as well, but he has basically been a toolsy type player that has yet to fully find his stride consistently in the minor leagues to provide any confidence to be given the job. So it is not like the Tigers have a true viable internal option coming through in the pipeline that would assume third base if the Tigers did not sign Alex Bregman.

The external alternative options have all but been exhausted. Aside from Nolan Arenado remaining in a possible trade (it has been confirmed that he will not waive his no trade clause to come to Detroit unfortunately), the remaining other intriguing free agent options have all decided to sign elsewhere at this point in February 2025. Any other remaining potential options (Justin Turner, Jose Iglesias, etc.) are all not necessarily upgrades over the current roster options at this point in their careers.

However, the Tigers have prided themselves on not wanting to block younger players from getting looks on their roster and have touted “optionality” as a way to succeed while utilizing matchups to their advantage. AJ Hinch is a major puppet master as we witnessed him pull every correct string to get the Tigers into the playoffs after having just a 0.2% chance to make it Whether it is Jung getting a fair look as a young player to platoon with Vierling, or even a guy like Wenceel Perez getting more looks in right field as a solid contributor last season, the Tigers have a long list of players that they can continue to plug and play based on matchups on a given basis. The team would certainly have loved to add Bregman to that mix, but the ship won’t sink entirely without him based on the amount of depth available and multiple players that can play multiple positions. Hinch can clearly use this strategy and has proven the effectiveness of it, but is it actually better to run that play or bring in a stud to solidify the roster? I guess we’ll find out. 

I can speak for virtually all of the Tigers fanbase saying that the team would have been exponentially better and plenty more interesting if Bregman was a Tiger for the 2025 season. Fangraphs released data showing that the Tigers percentage to make the playoffs would have increased by 12.4% if the team was able to acquire Bregman.

The Tigers only have two more years of Tarik Skubal left before he is testing the market to get 7+ years and $36+ million per year for a free agent contract from whoever is willing to pay that term and cash. Both Skubal and Bregman are Boras clients. Adding one might have helped keep the other, time and winning will tell.

Nick Spillane // @NeekSpills8