One of the offseason’s most intriguing mysteries has been solved. Alex Bregman is now with the Boston Red Sox. A 3-year $120 million contract. Rumors are that Breggy will play third base and let Rafael Devers be in the hot corner. 

But what about teams that were pursuing Bregman? While many will surely cry over their loss, two teams may have a strong reaction. Bregman’s former clubs – the Houston Astros and the Detroit Tigers. However, the Astros seemed to pivot from Bregman for a long time and they even got Nolan Arenado to prove that. But what about the Tigers?

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch comments on losing out on a star third baseman  

On a recent podcast of 97.1 The Ticket, the hosts referred to Hinch’s comment “If you want to be a part of it, then you’ll come. If you don’t, then we’ll beat you,” and of course asked if that applies to Alex Bregman as well. A. J. seemed pretty unbothered and pointed out how they beat him in Houston! He agreed how a team often gets associated with a specific name but “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.”  

“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,” the Tigers manager added. With his firm belief in working as a team and how “this has never been about one player,” Hinch pointed out their acquisitions of Jack Flaherty and Gleyber Torres, a right-handed batsman who can smash in the middle of the order.

Losing A-Breg didn’t stop them from moving forward. John Brebbia has been added to the rotation, along with Jackson Jobe in the pole position to check if he can win a spot in the lineup. With so much drama already going on around the team, as a Manager, A. J. Hinch finds it weird to handle all the buzz related to Alex Bregman.

Of course, the Tigers have so much to focus on! Why would they distract themselves for someone who rejected nearly $171.5  million?  

But why did Alex Bregman reject Detroit’s offer?  

Alex Bregman’s decision to sign with the Boston Red Sox came with some intriguing twists. While the deal itself is a major win for the Red Sox, Breggy could’ve chosen a rather long-term deal with Detroit.  

But the Red Sox deal came with perks that may have swayed Bregman’s decision. Most notably, the contract includes opt-outs after each of the first two seasons, which means Bregman could opt for free agency again as soon as the next offseason begins at 31 years old. The Tigers’ offer, on the other hand, had just one opt-out, coming after the 2026 season.

There’s also the financial side of things.  

The Red Sox are paying Bregman a hefty $40 million annually, a significant jump compared to the Tigers’ offer of $28.6 million per season. That puts Bregman in the company of baseball’s biggest earners, like Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Zack Wheeler, and Aaron Judge.

It’s clear that Boston made a strong case, with not just more money, but a structure that provides Bregman with flexibility to flourish his career moving forward.

But what do you think? Did Alex Bregman make the right call? Share your thoughts with us.