Three reasons the Detroit Tigers will struggle to bring in top talent via free agency

2. The Detroit Tigers face big market competition

Much of the top-end talents available on the open market are leaving teams that have shown a willingness to spend big; New York, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles among them. It's a big reason that free agency could be uneventful in some regards, because there is a real chance many players stay with the same team they suited up for in 2021, just with a hefty pay raise.

Beyond that, though, many of the suitors for other teams are also big-spenders. The Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Astros, and Giants have all put their hats in a respective free-agent ring thus far with more likely to follow; and as we have already referenced, all are in win-now mode.

It isn't to say the Tigers should necessarily be intimidated when bidding against these teams, but the more high-end clubs that are in on high-end talent, the percentage of winning that bidding war goes down considerably.

It can be done, however, and we don't need to go way back in time to do so. The Rangers, just last offseason, beat out these same big time teams for the services of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien--and have also entered the Jacob deGrom sweepstakes this offseason. It's possible, but it will take persistance and, in the end, likely what many would deem an 'overpay.'