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Detroit Tigers interested in top relievers. Is the Alex Bregman market holding them back?
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- Detroit Tigers interested in top relievers. Is the Alex Bregman market holding them back?
The Detroit Tigers want to sign a high-leverage reliever to rack up saves. The Tigers also want to sign Alex Bregman to play third base and hit in the middle of the lineup.
Bregman is the top priority.
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The reliever market has been moving fast with 20 days remaining until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, while the Bregman market remains slow-moving . So far, the Tigers' focus on Bregman has delayed their ability to sign a reliever in free agency.
It's unlikely the Tigers will address both desires — right-handed hitter and reliever — with elite options under their 2025 payroll plans, given that Bregman is projected to cost at least $25 million and a top closer at least $10 million.
As a result, the Tigers risk missing out on top relievers while waiting for Bregman to lower his asking price.
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Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Carlos Estevez (53) pitches in the eighth inning against the New York Mets during game three of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field in New York on Oct. 8, 2024.
But the Tigers are interested in signing a high-leverage reliever with experience as a closer for the 2025 season, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation. With that, the Tigers have expressed some level of interest in the best reliever remaining on the free-agent market — Carlos Estévez .
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Six teams are interested in Estévez, including the Tigers.
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The 32-year-old right-hander, whose fastball averages 97 mph, posted a 2.45 ERA with 12 walks and 50 strikeouts across 55 innings in 54 relief appearances in the 2024 season, working for the Los Angeles Angels in 34 games and the Philadelphia Phillies in 20 games. Estévez, an All-Star in 2023, recorded 57 saves in 66 opportunities over the past two seasons, with a 3.22 ERA in 117⅓ innings.
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Other closers still available in free agency include right-hander Kenley Jansen , right-hander Kyle Finnegan , right-hander Craig Kimbrel and right-hander David Robertson . The Tigers are interested in more than one of those players.
Jansen, 37, is MLB's active leader in saves, at 447.
Kimbrel, 36, owns nine All-Star berths over his 15 seasons, but he also logged a 5.33 ERA before being released by the postseason-bound Baltimore Orioles in mid-September. Robertson had a 3.00 ERA with the Texas Rangers last season, but he turns 40 in early April. Finnegan, 33, made his first All-Star team last season, registering a 3.68 ERA with 38 saves for the Washington Nationals , but the Nationals surprisingly non-tendered him in late November.
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Washington Nationals pitcher Kyle Finnegan (67) celebrates after a game against the Miami Marlins on June 16, 2024, at Nationals Park.
The biggest name came off the board earlier this week: Left-handed reliever Tanner Scott signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers . The Tigers were never in the mix. In Scott's market, the Dodgers, Chicago Cubs , New York Mets , Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox were the main suitors, with the Dodgers and Cubs as the only teams willing to offer a four-year contract.
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Other closers have come off the board: right-hander Clay Holmes to the New York Mets (three years, $38 million), left-hander Aroldis Chapman to the Red Sox (one year, $10.75 million), right-hander José Leclerc to the Athletics (one year, $10 million), right-hander Paul Sewald to the Cleveland Guardians (one year, $7 million), and right-hander Kirby Yates to the Dodgers (terms not yet available).
The Tigers inquired about Sewald but never showed serious interest.
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The Tigers have already added $30 million to their 2025 payroll by signing right-hander Alex Cobb and infielder Gleyber Torres , both on one-year, $15 million contracts. How the Tigers finish in the reliever market will ultimately depend on what happens in the Bregman sweepstakes.
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If Bregman signs with the Tigers, then the Tigers will likely opt for a lower-tier reliever, such as left-hander Andrew Chafin , or rely on internal options; if the Tigers miss on Bregman, then the Tigers will likely spend for a top closer, such as Jansen, and a lower-tier hitter, such as infielder Ha-Seong Kim .
The Tigers are one of a couple teams — probably joined by the Red Sox — waiting on Bregman's market to unfold before turning attention to the reliever market, but right now, there's one problem.
The reliever market is moving.
Bregman is not.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers may miss on Carlos Estévez if they wait on Alex Bregman
