Third baseman Alex Bregman remains one of the top free agents available during the Major League Baseball offseason.
Bregman opted out of his contract with the Boston Red Sox and could wind up back in Beantown sooner than later, but there are other interested clubs.
The Detroit Tigers emerged as a potential landing spot for Bregman last year and it appears they haven't ruled out the possibility. But ESPN's Buster Olney said on a recent episode of the "Baseball Tonight" podcast that negotiations between the AL Central club and Bregman turned "a little bit nasty" last winter.
Whichever direction the conversation took may have affected the two-time World Series champion's decision to take a three-year deal with the Red Sox, including opt-outs after each of the first two seasons.
Are the Tigers out of the Bregman sweepstakes?
Based on Olney's claim, ESPN's David Schoenfield believes the Tigers may be out of the running for Bregman, who has six straight seasons with an OPS+ of 113 or better.
"In the end, a return to Boston still makes the most sense," he wrote. "The Red Sox went after Schwarber and Alonso, and they need Bregman's right-handed bat to help balance out the lefty-heavy lineup."
Schoenfield's contract projection for the former Houston Astros All-Star is five or six years at $170 million.
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