Toward the end of his first season with the Tigers, A.J. Hinch sent a message to free agents around baseball: "We're going to reestablish ourselves as a winning franchise and develop a winning culture. If you want to be a part of it, then you'll come. If you don't, then we'll beat you."
He was reminded of those words Thursday morning on 97.1 The Ticket. Do they apply now to Alex Bregman?
"Well, we beat him in Houston," Hinch said with a laugh.
Just four months ago, the Tigers knocked the Astros out of the playoffs and ended Bregman's storied career in Houston. Then they set their sights on adding him. They were in it to the finish, making a reported six-year, $170 million offer to the star third baseman that included an opt-out after 2026. It was the longest, most lucrative deal on the table for Bregman, per reports.
On Wednesday night, he chose a three-year, $120 million deal from the Red Sox with opt-outs after each of the next two seasons. At $40 million per year, Bregman, a two-time All-Star, matches two-time MVP Aaron Judge as the fourth highest-paid player in the game.
Hinch admitted it was "awkward" arriving to spring training with Bregman's decision looming over Lakeland, and the majors at large.
"You never want to comment on guys who aren’t in your camp or who aren’t on board with you to come and be here," said Hinch, who managed Bregman for four seasons in Houston, including the Astros' world championship in 2017. "I find it sort of hard to balance. Of course it’s competitive, of course we’re going to circle some games on the calendar, but we've got a lot of work to do.
"We have the group that’s here, and it’s awesome to see that. This has never been about one player, this has never been about the defining moment (of an offseason)."
Even without Bregman, Hinch likes the upgrades the Tigers have made to a roster that fell a win shy of the ALCS last year. He pointed to the additions of Gleyber Torres -- a right-handed bat who can hit in the middle of the order -- and Jack Flaherty, among others. He cited "getting Jackson Jobe into pole rotation to potentially win a rotation spot."
"Those are still really exciting things," said Hinch. "Given how late it is in the non-game season, the offseason, (the Bregman story) bled into now having to handle that type of public situation in spring training, and that’s sort of weird for me as a manager and I’m sure it is for our team."
Bregman obviously would have given the Tigers a lift. He's one of the best third baseman in baseball, third at the position in fWAR (14.0) over the last three seasons to only Jose Ramirez and Manny Machado. The Tigers would have benefited greatly from his production at the plate and his Gold Glove-caliber defense on the dirt, along with his leadership in a young clubhouse. They will turn to Matt Vierling and Jace Jung at the hot corner instead.
Asked if the Tigers still need to add a proven right-handed bat, Hinch said, "What we need is for our guys to step up and continue this development."
"This has been built on young players getting better and getting experience. Of course you’re always trying to find ways to get better. I’m not going to play into hypotheticals about what it could have been like or would have been like. I do think we need our guys to continue to stay locked down.
"I have no issues with all this stuff playing out in the public, unless it starts to distract us from what we gotta do, which is get better."