Alex Bregman landing spots get cloudier after Tigers' latest move

With the signing of Christian Walker and the trade of Kyle Tucker that brought back Isaac Paredes, it became abundantly clear that Alex Bregman's time with the Houston Astros had come to an end. Some fans may have held out a sliver of hope that Houston could make the above moves AND bring Bregman back, but those hopes were quickly squashed when Dana Brown's talked about how the team's talks with the All-Star third baseman had stalled, which necessitated their pivot.

The Astros moving on so decisively and completely does create a bit of a problem for Bregman and his agent Scott Boras. No longer can they use the specter of a Houston reunion to for teams to up their offers. Boras thrives when he can create bidding wars for his clients and, in Bregman's case, the most high profile bidder is now out of the equation.

However, that doesn't mean that Bregman has been left completely out in the cold.

He is arguably the best bat remaining on the free agent market. with a number of teams still in need of an offensive upgrade. Approaching the end of 2024, it appeared the Tigers and Red Sox were the favorites to land Bregman this offseason, with the Mets still lurking.

Then, on Friday morning, the Tigers signed Gleyber Torres, adding him at second base to an infield that also includes Colt Keith, Jace Jung, Trey Sweeney, and the looming specter of Javier Baez. Can Detroit afford an extra addition and banish another prospect to Triple-A while deemphasizing Baez? It suddenly seems less likely.

Former Astros star Alex Bregman could end up landing with Detroit, who eliminated Houston in the playoffs, or Red Sox ... or Mets ...

It is already sad that Bregman is going to be playing in a different uniform going forward, but it would be particularly painful if the Tigers, who eliminated the Astros from the playoffs, were the ones who end up scooping him up.

The Tigers are not alone in being interested in Bregman's services. The Mets remain a possibility, if for no other reason being that they are in on everybody with Steve Cohen as their owner. The Red Sox could also be in play as they haven't really spent this offseason the way many thought, although that would require moving Rafael Devers to first or Bregman to second. The Boston front office was reportedly split on Bregman internally during the Winter Meetings, but at this moment, they feel like a top-two most likely landing spot once again.

The only thing we know for certain is that Bregman won't be in Houston next season. However, given that they are out of the bidding, Bregman may have to settle for less than he was hoping for without his most motivated suitor in the equation.

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