Tigers signing Gleyber Torres might've hurt them as Pete Alonso market plummets

The Detroit Tigers were just one win away from making it to the ALCS in 2024, dramatically raising the expectations around the team in 2025. But if they want to replicate their success from last season and make a deeper run into the playoffs, there are still some needs they will have to address.

One of those needs is power from the right side of the plate. The Tigers added second baseman Gleyber Torres in free agency this offseason, but considering he has only surpassed 25 home runs once in his career (2019) he likely won't move the needle too much for Detroit in that regard.

An obvious solution to the Tigers' lack of power at the plate – and their lack of an everyday third baseman – would be signing free agent third baseman Alex Bregman. But there remains a gap in value between the two sides, as Bregman is seeking upwards of $200 million over six years, and Detroit does not want to clog up the payroll long term or block any of their young players or prospects from larger Major League opportunities (unless that young player is Spencer Torkelson, but that's another story for another time).

Tigers signing Gleyber Torres might've hurt them as Pete Alonso market plummets

Perhaps, then, the Tigers might be more intrigued by a different right-handed slugger in Pete Alonso? Alonso's free agency has not gone according to plan, causing leverage to shift away from the player and toward the interested teams. As Alonso's market continues to plummet, the Tigers could take advantage.

While last year was arguably the worst of Alonso's career, he still was able to hit 34 home runs with 88 RBI. That's exactly the kind of power the Tigers should be looking for in the middle of their lineup; however, there would be a slight issue with signing Alonso now.

When the Tigers signed Torres, they announced shortly after that he would be their starting second baseman and that Colt Keith would be moving to first. Theoretically, if they had waited, they could have foregone signing Torres (who isn't an impact addition anyway) and instead sign Alonso to play at first base; now, there doesn't appear to be room for him unless he's strictly a DH and Kerry Carpenter moves to the outfield. And that doesn't really make sense.

The Mets' final offer to Alonso was three years in the $70 million range, which is a massive drop-off in his expected market. It's been reported the Mets believe he'll sign elsewhere, and it's looking like he'll take a one-year deal or short-term contract with a contender or up-and-coming team to rebuild his value. The Tigers could've been that destination had they waited.

Either way, Alonso's fit in Detroit is not nearly as obvious as Bregman's. But for now, the Tigers will have to hope that Torres will be enough to help them take the next step in 2025 (spoiler: he probably won't).

More Tigers content from Motor City Bengals