Detroit sports show pushing Alex Bregman discourse in right direction for Tigers

The Tigers' lack of action has given fans less and less reason to be optimistic about a potential Alex Bregman signing. Even though the Tigers have been called the only serious threats in Bregman's languishing market, something has been keeping the two sides from coming to an agreement. It's not hard to guess what the road blocks might be — the Tigers don't like to block prospects and don't like to spend money, and Bregman's reportedly looking for seven years and $200 million in free agency.

The good news is that the Red Sox and Blue Jays, both of whom have been connected to him, also aren't pursuing Bregman aggressively. The bad news, though, is that Scott Boras and the Cubs have been having "casual conversations" about him, and the Cubs' trade for Kyle Tucker has shown that they're willing to make a splash (even if they might already be butting heads with Tucker over arbitration numbers).

It's hard to tell how much fans (and prospects) trying to shake the Tigers front office by their shoulders will actually work, but that shouldn't stop anyone from trying. The hosts of Wake Up Woodward made their own plea to the Tigers, saying, "Spend the money. There's no more deliberation. [...] If you sign him right now, especially with the makeup of this team, I think that would put this Detroit Tigers team in a position to really compete for that AL Central title this year."

Wake Up Woodward hosts add another plea to Tigers to get an Alex Bregman deal done

With the Cubs now in the mix and maybe more willing to spend the money that could reunite Bregman and Tucker in Chicago, the Tigers should feel a greater sense of urgency, but there's no guarantee that it will actually light a fire under them because it's a little unclear how much they even want him. They've been satisfied with their third base carousel for a few years now, and they have Jace Jung to potentially fill in full-time depending on how spring training goes.

It could be that they're trying to run down the clock on Bregman and Boras, much like teams did last year with Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Cody Bellinger, and so on before all of those free agents were forced to take unexpectedly small, short-term deals. But there's no guarantee that will work again.

The Tigers just need to bridge the gap and sign the guy if they want to look like serious contenders in 2025. If that means doing the uncomfortable thing and ponying up a little more than they want to, then they should probably just hold their noses and do it.