Detroit Tigers News: Juan Soto history, Walker Buehler and Alex Bregman updates

The MLB Winter Meetings are here and, in theory, the Detroit Tigers should be players on the free agent and trade markets. They just made a surprise run in the postseason and have one of the more entertaining young cores in all of baseball. Unfortunately, the offseason has been a lot more hope and speculation than actual results or even interest so far.

In addition to Detroit's rumored interest in Ha-Seong Kim, the Detroit Free Press' Evan Petzold provided a series of updates on the Tigers' plans as the Winter Meetings get under way.

Tigers News: Juan Soto's insane contract sets the tone for the rest of the Winter Meetings

While seeing Juan Soto in a Tigers uniform would have been sweet, Detroit was never involved in his market as the bidding exceeded several hundred million dollars in a hurry this offseason. Soto was widely expected to challenge the contract guarantee that Shohei Ohtani got last offseason, but few expected his market to get as crazy as it ended up being.

On Sunday night, Soto agreed to a 15 year, $765 million deal with the Mets that set the record for the largest deal ever given to a baseball player. Even though the Tigers weren't involved in the bidding at all, their offseason could take an unfortunate turn as the losers for the Soto sweepstakes now turn to the rest of the free agent market including guys that the Tigers at least should be considering.

Tigers News: Detroit rumored to be targeting Walker Buehler and other short-term starters

While the Tigers' bullpen game plan in 2024 was fun to see executed, it is probably not sustainable to have Tarik Skubal as the team's only reliable starter in the rotation going forward. In an ideal world, Detroit would be in on a top free agent starter like Corbin Burnes or Max Fried. However, that does not seem to be in the cards.

However, one name that continues to gain traction as a Tigers target is starter Walker Buehler. Petzold notes that Buehler's performance in the 2024 postseason and previous dominace could convince the Tigers to make a strong two-year contract offer despite the fact that Buehler's regular season numbers last year as well as his injury history are real red flags. Other names that appear to be on Detroit's radar include Kyle Gibson and Andrew Heaney who fit in the same bucket as guys who will likely get one or two year deals.

Tigers News: Odds of adding Alex Bregman are decreasing by the day

Of all the top free agents out there, the one name that has been connected to the Tigers is Alex Bregman. Detroit is looking to add an impact right-handed bat and Bregman is among the best options with that profile available this offseason. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like he will be in Detroit for 2025 and beyond.

According to Petzold, even the Astros' existing six-year, $156 million offer to Bregman is already more than than the Tigers are willing to offer. There is a world where Bregman's market collapses for some reason (just look at Boras' clients last offseason) and Houston moves on with Bregman still available.

If that happens, the Tigers could swoop in. However, that feels extremely unlikely especially with teams like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and others with money burning a hole in their pocket after losing out on Soto.

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