Tigers can't afford to let Alex Bregman flirtation distract them from top offseason priority

The offseason for the Detroit Tigers has been off to a strange start. Fans have been under the impression based on the comments from Scott Harris at the end of the season press conference that Detroit was going to spend money to acquire talent.

The idea of Alex Bregman to Detroit seemed like the natural fit. Bregman, a clubhouse leader for a young team is reuniting with his former manager, A.J. Hinch. However, the “flirting” seems more like an illusion than any type of reality, even with the prediction from David Brown of Deadspin that he would sign a seven-year, $176 million dollar contract with the Tigers.

However, just based on the conversations at the GM meetings in San Antonio, the sense with Harris is they are going to explore all options but Bregman does not appear to be one of them.

But one thing was clear during the meetings. The clock on resigning left-hander Tarik Skubal is getting louder.

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The highest priority should be Tarik Skubal

Tarik Skubal is a Scott Boras client and with that, will come the back and forth used in the press by Boras to say that Skubal isn't getting the contract extension that is worth market value. Boras will press to get the most amount of money for his players, even if it works out like last season where players sign contracts right before the season began.

The Tigers have one of the league's lowest payrolls at $80 million. Harris said they were going to go after pitching this offseason to improve the rotation, so why not start with extending the potential 2024 Cy Young award winner?

Detroit's competitive window is just underway, with 11 players last season reaching the major leagues for the first time. Skubal's numbers are going to just get better, based on the projections he is heading towards. Do they need a right-handed bat with power? Absolutely and after Skubal, that should be the priority, however, the strange way to kick off the offseason with the rumors that you are not going to spend does not bode well for Tigers fans.

Harris may continue to look for waiver wire magic or get better via trade with the prospect depth Detroit currently has, but the resigning of Skubal to an extension should continue to take priority.