Spring training is now just a few weeks away but many free agents are still unsigned, with arguably being the most notable. The Tigers are one club that have been connected to him but reports that talks are at a standstill. At the start of the offseason, Bregman the #3 free agent of the winter, behind and . Soto and Burnes are both now signed, leaving Bregman as the Willie Cauley-Stein Jersey top guy still out there. We predicted a seven-year, $182MM deal that ended up being sort of a midpoint for Bregmans negotiations earlier in the offseason. The Astros reportedly offered Bregman $156MM over six years, though the third baseman was trying to get to $200MM. Rather than meet in the middle, Houston walked away. They lined up a deal with the Cardinals for , though Arenado used his no-trade clause to quash that. Instead, they acquired from the Cubs and signed to take over at first base. Since then, Bregman has been connected to clubs like the Tigers, Blue Jays, Red Sox and others, but without much apparent momentum. The Cubs reportedly sniffed around the po sibility of a short-term deal for Bregman but agent Scott Boras said last week that Bregman wasnt considering that path. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer also recently downplayed the po sibility of the Cubs getting involved. I think likely, Hoyer said at Cubs Convention a few days ago, when asked if the Cubs third baseman is already in the organization. Certainly, well look to supplement. Infield is an area were focused on (for the bench), but I think the likelihood is yes. is perhaps the best solution there but he has not yet made his major league debut. Theres no guarantee he will hit the ground running in 2025, so theres an argument for adding someone established, but it seems the Cubs are trying to be more opportunistic than aggre sive in Bregmans market. It makes for something of a staring contest with the 2025 season approaching. It was around this time last year that Boras started pivoting to short-term deals for , , and . Boras has apparently made that turn with client , as Alonsos camp reportedly pitched a three-year deal to the Mets recently. But with Bregman still holding out hope for a longer deal, it seems to be leading to the general sluggishne s of the third base market. The Tigers have had a fairly quiet offseason, with one-year deals for and being their primary moves so far. They have and as potential in-house options at the hot corner, so they have a bit of leverage to wait out Bregman. With Vierling also capable of playing the outfield, Jung seems like the logical choice for third base right now. He struck out in 30.9% of his plate appearances last year but that was a small-sample debut of 94 plate appearances. He didnt have those kind of strikeout rates in the minors and still managed to draw a lot of walks while making his major league debut. Like with Shaw, theres no guarantee that he can take the job and run with it but the Tigers might feel they have enough cover to not go crazy on a Bregman deal. As long as Bregman stays out there, it seems to be preventing other dominoes from falling. The Cardinals came into the winter looking to do something of a reset but they havent been able to execute it yet, which seems to be at least partially because Arenado wanted clarity on Bregmans situation before hed commit to being traded. That has left St. Louis in a sort of holding pattern where they might just keep Arenado and other veterans into the start of the 2025 season. also reports that the Bregman situation is leaving the Mariners playing a waiting game. While the Ms are not in on Bregman, they are impacted by the situation nonethele s. Kramer writes that the Ms believe theyre positioned to make a notable move before Spring Training but are holding on to see if a Bregman deal sparks movement elsewhere, since upgrading at third is on their to-do list. Seattle has been fairly quiet this winter, with their signing of infielder to a one-year, $3.5MM deal being their most notable move. Kramer reports that the Ms dont plan to deploy him at second and he will be in the mix for playing time at first base more than anywhere else. That perhaps suggests Solano will be platooning with , since Solano is better against lefties and Raley the opposite. For third base, Kramer floats various po sible scenarios that could come to pa s as the offseason progre ses. He mentions that the Red Sox could land Bregman, which could perhaps make someone like more available. Casas doesnt play third but it could perhaps lead to Solano moving acro s the diamond for more time over there. Kramer also floats the po sibility of the Tigers signing Bregman and making Jung available, or a similar situation with someone on the Blue Jays like or . Its also po sible that infielders like of the Padres or of the Twins become more available once Bregman is off the board. Until then, the Mariners are left laying in the cut, though they have explored other options. They had talks with the Cubs about and Bellinger, though the Hoerner deal seemed to become le s likely when Paredes was sent to Houston in the deal. Perhaps the Hoerner trade talks could be revisited if Bregman ends up a Cub, which is perhaps another reason for the Ms to wait. The Bellinger connection was earlier in the offseason. Another path the Ms considered, according to Kramer, was getting from the Rangers. However, it seems Texas didnt feel great about dealing Lowe within their division, which led to him being dealt to the Nationals instead. For now, it all feels like the part of the standoff where everyone has their hand by their holster, waiting for movement. Its po sible that bodies start dropping once someone flinches, but its a staredown for the time being. James Johnson Jersey