One of the most surprising developments of the offseason was Alex Bregman joining the Boston Red Sox on a short-term contract just before the start of spring training. After months of back and forth between Bregman, Scott Boras and various suitors, the two-time All-Star wound up abandoning his dream of a long-term deal and accepting a (heavily deferred) contract with Boston worth $120 million across three years (with the right to opt out at the end of each of those seasons).
While $40 million per year seems like a big number to match, the reality is that Bregman's AAV in Boston is really something just north of $30 million when deferrals are taken into account. As you might imagine, it turned plenty of heads around the league, especially considering that Bregman was believed to have been given multiple offers that brought significantly more in both years and total money. One of those offers, in particular, came courtesy of the Detroit Tigers, who had a hole at third base and gave Bregman the chance to reunite with former Houston Astros manager AJ Hinch.
But despite those selling points, the Tigers missed out. And as further details emerge about their pursuit of Bregman, it sure seems like Scott Boras was committed to wasting Detroit's time.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray's work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB offseason.
Alex Bregman counteroffers with Detroit proves Tigers never had a chance
Coming off an unexpected postseason run, the Tigers were rumored to be aggressors in the free agent market this offseason. With Bregman at the top of their wishlist, they extended the All-Star third baseman an offer for six years and $171.5 million. While the salary difference seems significant compared to Bregman's deal with the Red Sox, Detroit also wanted to defer some $40 million of that and only include an opt-out clause following the 2026 season.
Bregman not only rejected that offer — the richest he got all offseason, mind you — but responded with two counteroffers for the Tigers to consider which were both shot down immediately. The first was a seven-year deal for $200 million, but Detroit made it very clear they would not pay him $200 million. Boras helped construct the next one, in which the Tigers would sign Bregman for six years and $186 million but provide an opt-out clause after the 2025 season. Detroit declined because they (justifiably) did not want to run the risk of losing Bregman after just one year.
In response, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris clapped back, stating that Detroit is only looking for players who want to play there. While this sounds cliche, his point is that if Bregman and Boras truly saw Detroit as a desired destination, Bregman would be in a Tigers uniform. The offer the Tigers gave Bregman was more than fair, and the response simply proved that his camp was wasting the team's time.