Matt Vierling injury suddenly has Tigers fans feeling differently about Alex Bregman

Well, this one hurts.

Emma Lingan

Alex Bregman of the Boston Red Sox participates in drills at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. / andrew west / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Just two weeks into spring training, the Detroit Tigers' plan at third base for 2025 has already hit a snag.

The Tigers announced Friday morning that utility man Matt Vierling has been diagnosed with a strained rotator cuff in his right shoulder and will be shut down for a period of rest before being re-evaluated for baseball activities. Manager AJ Hinch informed reporters that Vierling will not be ready by Opening Day and will start the season on the injured list.

Vierling mostly played the outfield for the Tigers over the previous two seasons but also saw significant playing time in the infield and was slated to enter the season as one of Detroit's primary options at third base alongside Jace Jung. Now, it looks like Jung – and his 34 games of Major League experience – will be the regular at the hot corner.

In a perfect world, Jung will take the job and run with it; but the Tigers will need to adjust their contingency plans given his lack of experience. With Vierling out of the picture, utility infielders Andy Ibáñez and Zach McKinstry are the most obvious fallback options in case Jung struggles.

Matt Vierling injury suddenly has Tigers fans feeling differently about Alex Bregman pursuit

As much as Tigers fans would love to move on from the Alex Bregman offseason free agency saga, we would be remiss not to point out that this entire situation could have been avoided if the slugging third baseman had opted to sign with Detroit. Bregman would have been the easy solution for the Tigers at third base, while giving Jung some more time to develop and adding a right-handed power bat to the middle of their lineup.

Vierling being part of the equation had Tigers fans feeling much more comfortable writing off Bregman choosing the Red Sox. But now? A rookie being thrown into the fire after logging a -0.5 WAR in limited time last year makes that a bit harder.

In what otherwise ended up being a pretty strong offseason for the Tigers, the sting of losing out on Bregman feels a little more intense now. In the meantime, Detroit will have to hope Vierling's injury doesn't keep him out for more than a few weeks or Jung is up for the challenge of being an everyday MLB third baseman. Is it too much to ask for both?

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Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan is an MLB Staff Writer for FanSided primarily covering the Pittsburgh Pirates. She has been covering baseball for more than a decade dating back to her time as a student at Wake Forest University, and she has won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. National Team delegation (2016 Pan-American Championships & 2017 World Baseball Classic). A native of Washington, D.C. and current resident of Nashville, Tenn., she is also entering her seventh season as a credentialed NHL media member and currently covers the NHL’s Nashville Predators for The Hockey News. When she's not watching hockey, baseball or football, she enjoys podcasting, reading, going to the gym, consuming large amounts of coffee and taking long walks with her dog, Minkah. You can follow her @Emma_lingan on Twitter and Instagram.