Detroit Tigers weren't in Alex Bregman talks

Third baseman Alex Bregman signed a five-year, $175 million contract with the Chicago Cubs in MLB free agency.

This time, the Detroit Tigers didn't even try to land him.

The Tigers weren't involved in negotiations with Bregman ahead of his long-term agreement Saturday, Jan. 10, with the Cubs in the 2025-26 offseason, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Less than 11 months ago, the Tigers finished as the runner-up to the Boston Red Sox in Bregman's free agency during the 2024-25 offseason.

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Without Bregman, Colt Keith projects to be the Tigers' primary third baseman in the 2026 season.

"We want players who want to be here," Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said in February 2025, after Bregman picked the Red Sox. "We made a very compelling offer to Alex Bregman, but he chose to sign somewhere else."

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Bregman is represented by agent Scott Boras.

He parlayed a short-term contract with the Red Sox into a long-term win with the Cubs, securing a combined $215 million across consecutive trips through free agency. Deferrals in the Red Sox and Cubs contracts lower the present-day value into the high-$180 million to low-$190 million range over six years.

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Remember the Tigers' offer from last offseason?

It was six years, $171.5 million, with an opt-out after 2026 and some deferred money.

(The Tigers also turned down two offers from Bregman last offseason that didn't include deferrals. The first offer: six years, $186 million with an opt-out after 2025. The second offer: seven years, $200 million.)

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After shutting out the Tigers, Bregman earned $40 million from the Red Sox in 2025, opted out of the final two seasons of the three-year, $120 million contract, then locked in $175 million with the Cubs from 2026-30.

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This offseason, the Cubs, Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Arizona Diamondbacks were the four teams in the mix for Bregman – but not the Tigers, who expressed only lukewarm interest. The Cubs and Red Sox emerged as the finalists.

Last offseason, the Red Sox, Tigers and Cubs were the finalists.

"We thought we were going to be in Detroit the entire time," Bregman said in March 2025 on the "Foul Territory" show, when asked about choosing the Red Sox, "and then at the last second, Boston kind of came in."

For the Red Sox, Bregman hit .273 with 18 home runs, 51 walks and 70 strikeouts across 114 games in the 2025 season, making his third All-Star Game in his 10-year MLB career. The 31-year-old hit .309 with a .933 OPS in his first 83 games before struggling in his final 31 games.

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Meanwhile, the Tigers relied on Keith, Zach McKinstry and Andy Ibáñez as their primary third basemen.

In January 2026, negotiations about a no-trade clause in Bregman's second round of free agency may have been the biggest factor that swayed him from a return to the Red Sox to a new opportunity with the Cubs.

Both teams offered five years, but the Cubs offered $175 million compared to the Red Sox at $165 million. Both offers included deferred money, though only the Cubs included a full-no trade clause.

"I am not going to gloss over the impact that Alex had on our season," Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told MassLive on Sunday, after Bregman picked the Cubs. "He is a great player with a strong leadership presence in our clubhouse. But this job requires balancing long- and short-term interests and making the best decisions for the organization, difficult as they be."

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It's unclear whether other teams made offers.

But the Tigers were not involved.

"Everyone is aware that Bregman is something special and different, other than his performance," Boras said in December 2025 at the MLB Winter Meetings, referencing Bregman's leadership. "You're talking about one of the few regular everyday players that has nine consecutive postseason appearances."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Alex Bregman free agency: Detroit Tigers weren't involved in talks