Tarik Skubal sends message to Tigers' front office on Alex Bregman's free agency

Even though Alex Bregman didn't end up with the Tigers last offseason, fans were just relieved to see the saga come to a close after months and months of "will-he, won't-he."

It was hard to be too upset with the front office about the failed pursuit. They made a competitive offer, six years and $171.5 million — basically exactly what Bregman wanted — but he took the higher AAV with the Red Sox, and then Detroit made it further into October than Boston did anyway.

But he still hung over the Tigers' season, especially when the Red Sox were reportedly considering dealing him at the trade deadline. Insiders reported that the Tigers would have been "all-in" if he'd been made available.

And now he'll hang over their offseason, too. He opted out of his contract on Nov. 3 to become a free agent again. The saga continues.

It's unclear if the Tigers will be as aggressively involved in his market as they were last year, but it stands to reason that they'll at least approach him again. Tarik Skubal, fresh off of his Cy Young win, made it clear where he stands on a potential second chase.

"I'd love to play with him, obviously," Skubal said, hardly shyly. "Hopefully, we can (pursue him) again this year. I know he's a free agent again. I'd love to be teammates with him. He's a great player and he'd bring a lot to our club, for sure."

Tarik Skubal advocates for the Tigers to renew their pursuit of Alex Bregman after Red Sox opt-out

The Tigers have a lot more payroll considerations this offseason than last. If MLB Trade Rumors' projected arbitration salaries for Detroit's 14 arb-eligible players are accurate, that's $60.75 million added to the books by January. If Gleyber Torres accepts the $22.025 million qualifying offer, that's another wrinkle.

And Tigers fans still have mixed feelings on Bregman. There's nothing wrong with him taking the bigger contract or wanting to play in a ballpark he's always put up great numbers in, but it's like Scott Harris said: the Tigers want players who actually want to play in Detroit.

But Skubal's input is weighty. If the Tigers can get Bregman and can continue to compete in 2026, it could incentivize Skubal to come back in free agency, should Detroit's efforts to extend him fail. As mixed as fans might be on Bregman right now, there's never been a doubt that he would make the team better.

If the Tigers are all-in again this offseason, we can only hope that Bregman's free agency won't be as protracted as it was the last time around.