Insider suggests Alex Bregman holdup has nothing to do with Tigers’ offer

It's not hard to distrust the Tigers front office. Sometimes, it feels like they're pretty much asking for it. How else are fans supposed to respond to a front office that promises big additions during an offseason, and then signs Alex Cobb and Gleyber Torres instead? Sure, the suits at Comerica can surprise us with nice additions every now and then — Jack Flaherty last year, Tommy Kahnle this year — but on the whole, putting too much faith in them usually leads to being thoroughly underwhelmed.

This is the thinking that's guided a lot of the conversation around the Tigers' pursuit of Alex Bregman. The pursuit is eyebrow raising in itself — the Tigers haven't given out a deal more than two years long to a free agent since Javy Báez's six-year deal in 2022 — but every new update basically isn't an update at all. It's always something along the lines of, "Yes,the Tigers are still interested, but there's been no progress."

It makes sense that fans would pin most of the blame on the front office. It's not hard to reach a logical conclusion that the Tigers would be trying to talk Bregman down from his asking price at seven years and $200 million, which could lead to standstill.

However, Jim Bowden hinted this week that it might not actually be entirely the Tigers' fault. He said on MLB Network Radio, "I think the Tigers have the best offer on the table, I'm just not sure that's where he wants to go."

Jim Bowden suggests Alex Bregman-Tigers impasse may be because Bregman doesn't want to play in Detroit

And, well, it's still a little bit the front office's fault. The Tigers might've had an impressive miracle run last year, which included bumping Bregman's very own Astros out of the postseason, but it's also hard to forget about the long stretch from 2015 through 2023, when the Tigers were largely stuck in the doldrums of third through fourth place in the uncompetitive AL Central. And, sure, they were rebuilding, but it still doesn't doesn't exactly make Detroit a top destination for free agents.

If the Tigers really do have the best offer on the table, though, then fans can start getting mad at Bregman and Boras. Despite those rough nine seasons of mediocrity at best, the Tigers are clearly a team on the rise.

AJ Hinch probably said it best, "If you want to be a part of it, then you'll come. If you don't, then we'll beat you."