The Tigers wanted Alex Bregman, and their offer to the star third baseman was proof. They'll be just fine without him, says president of baseball operations Scott Harris.
Bregman signed a three-year, $120 million deal with the Red Sox over a six-year, $171.5 million offer from the Tigers, making his decision Wednesday night.
"Was I disappointed? I don’t think I would characterize my emotions that way, Harris told reporters Friday in Lakeland. "I would say we want players who want to be here. I say it a lot because I mean it. We want players who want to be Tigers. We made a very compelling offer to Alex Bregman, but he chose to sign somewhere else. That’s fine. We knew that was a possibility throughout this process and we planned for that outcome."
The Tigers have maintained a low payroll under Chris Ilitch, and Harris hasn't done much to change that since arriving three years ago. There has been frustration among the fans about the organization's willingness to spend, especially in the wake of the disastrous Javier Baez contract that has three years and $73 million remaining.
The Tigers' offer to Bregman, which included an opt-out after 2026, shows that "we have an owner in Chris who gives us the flexibility to chase the lead free agents," said Harris.
"We’re going to land those guys sometimes, like we did with Jack Flaherty. Sometimes we’re not, and that’s fine," he said. "But heading into this entire process we knew that given all the work we had done on the development and acquisition front, we were going to be able to run out a really good team with or without Alex Bregman."
Regarding their options at third base, Harris pointed to former first-round pick Jace Jung, the 24-year-old who "mashed his way through the minor leagues," debuted for the Tigers last summer and "deserves a lot of reps at this level." He also brought up Matt Vierling, "a versatile and athletic right-handed bat who put up a sneaky good year last year, and Andy Ibañez, "a lefty killer who plays really good defense at third base."
Vierling hit a career-high 16 homers last season and also plays in the outfield; Ibañez hit .292 with an .802 OPS against lefties. Harris also noted that the Tigers "have a lot of young talent coming real fast through this farm system, and a lot of them play on the left side of the infield."
And most notable of all, Harris echoed A.J. Hinch: the Tigers are four months removed from knocking Bregman out of the playoffs.
"We’re going to be just fine without Alex Bregman, and we still have a clubhouse that just got to the postseason and just beat a team with Alex Bregman, so it clearly can be done," Harris said.