Alex Bregman reveals he nearly signed with Tigers before Red Sox swooped in

Alex Bregman was one of the hottest free agents on the open market this past offseason. He was coming off a season where he won a Gold Glove at third base in 2024 with the Houston Astros.

Houston failed to re-sign him as they could not match his demands. his decision then came down to a few teams including the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, and Boston Red Sox.

Bregman eventually signed a three-year, $120 million contract with Boston. However, he recently revealed on Foul Territory that he thought he would sign a deal with Detroit before Boston swooped in.

"It was kind of crazy. Met with a lot of teams and then honestly, everything happened in like the last 30 minutes. It was kind of rapid fire. We thought we were going somewhere else the entire time," said Bregman.

Bregman revealed that while he was meeting with teams, he had Detroit on his mind. Then, Boston came in and he quickly changed his tune and signed with them.

"We thought we were going to be in Detroit the entire time, honestly. And then at the last second, Boston kind of came in" he added.

Bregman ended up signing for more AAV, which is what he was searching for. Detroit only offered him a six-year, $171.5 million deal while Boston offered $120 for three years.

Alex Bregman grew up idolizing a Red Sox star

Boston Red Sox - Alex Bregman (Photo via IMAGN)

Over the years, Dustin Pedroia was a huge part of the Red Sox's success. While undersized, he was a threat in the batter's box and held down second base extremely well.

This is a player that Alex Bregman grew up idolizing. Bregman once was the batboy for the University of New Mexico and saw Pedroia when he was playing for Arizona State.

Bregman specifically remembers the time when Pedroia went in head-first into first base and was fired up afterward. After that, Bregman knew that he was the kind of player he wanted to be when he got a little older.

Bregman would eventually meet Pedroia when Bregman got into the league. after some brief conversations, the two became good friends. Pedroia even invited Bregman to hit with him.

Now, Pedroia focuses more on the youth side of the game rather than the professional side. He is currently a youth baseball coach in Arizona where he coaches his sons' teams.