The Tigers are interested in free agent infielder Ha-Seong Kim, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. It was reported last week that the Tigers have renewed interest in free agent Alex Bregman, though Petzold reports this week that the club’s interest in Bregman has been lukewarm so far this offseason.
Kim would be a very different addition than Bregman. Kim’s ability to play multiple positions is nice but Bregman would be a much better surefire upgrade in the 2026 season. Bregman spent 2025 with the Red Sox and slashed .273/.360/.462 for a 125 wRC+, roughly in line with his career numbers. He also received solid grades for his third base defense. FanGraphs credited him with 3.5 wins above replacement even though injuries limited him to just 114 games. He had been a 4-6 WAR player in the previous three seasons and would have been in that range again in 2025 with a bit more health.
There would be much more uncertainty with Kim. He was once capable of 3-5 WAR seasons a few years ago, mostly based on his defense. From 2022 to 2024, he hit .250/.336/.385 for a 106 wRC+. He stole 72 bases and got strong marks for his glovework at second base, third base and shortstop. He was credited with 10.5 fWAR over those three seasons.
However, he required shoulder surgery at the end of 2024 and didn’t bounce back in 2025. He only got into 48 games with a tepid .234/.304/.345 line and 82 wRC+. In his 361 shortstop innings, he was given a minus-3 grade by both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average. His arm strength was only in the 45th percentile, according to Statcast, after being closer to 70th in his previous seasons.
Bregman is a more reliable upgrade for any team needing infield help but that should also be reflected in the eventual contracts for both players. MLBTR predicted Bregman could secure a $160MM deal over six years, whereas Kim was pegged for $30MM over two years.
The Tigers were willing to give Bregman a deal in range of that prediction last winter. They reportedly put a six-year, $171.5MM deal on the table, though with some deferrals knocking down the net present value. Bregman instead went to the Red Sox on a three-year, $120MM deal, though there were also notable deferrals in that pact. He had opt-outs after each season of his Boston deal and took the first one.
There are some reasons the Tigers may be less willing to do that kind of long-term deal now, one year later. The left side of their infield is still fairly open, with multi-positional guys like Javier Báez, Zach McKinstry, Colt Keith, Trey Sweeney and Jace Jung in the mix. However, shortstop prospect Kevin McGonigle is now lurking more than he was a season ago.
The 37th overall pick from the 2023 draft, McGonigle finished his 2024 season with 14 games in High-A and still seemed far away from the big leagues. In 2025, he tore through High-A and was promoted to Double-A, getting into 46 games at the latter level. He hit 12 home runs there and slashed .254/.369/.550 for a 162 wRC+. Basically every outlet now considers him one of the top three prospects in the game. He’s still just 21 years old and isn’t on the 40-man yet but he could be in Triple-A and pushing for a big league tryout in 2026.
If McGonigle is the long-term answer at short, perhaps the Tigers would opt for more of a short-term addition in Kim. On the other hand, despite the huge praise for his bat, some prospect evaluators feel McGonigle is stretched at short and doesn’t have the arm strength for third. If he is destined for second base, he could take over for Gleyber Torres there after 2026, as Torres is on a one-year deal. In that scenario, the Tigers would still be left with a hodgepodge of utility guys like Báez, McKinstry and Keith covering shortstop and third. With 2026 set to be the final year with Tarik Skubal, there’s an argument that’s Detroit should be more all-in and make the best short-term upgrade it can.
The position player market is expected to heat up now that Kyle Schwarber is reportedly going back to the Phillies. Kim’s market has been relatively quiet so far. He has been connected to Atlanta, who claimed him off waivers late in 2025. But he opted out of that deal, walking away from a $16MM player option. Atlanta then pivoted to acquire Mauricio Dubón from the Astros. That’s not expected to stop them from signing Kim but they have a better fallback plan now. As for Bregman, the Red Sox are interested in bringing him back but the Cubs appear to be involved as well.
Photo courtesy of Jordan Godfree, Imagn Images
He’s a solid player and should give them some versatility. As shown many times, such as the bellinger situation, shoulder injuries take a little time to recover from.
He’s another season removed from surgery, and he’ll likely have a bounce back year. Signing him will allow them to spend on other needs.
Trying to get that Bregman price down, huh?
Or just plain avoiding an overpriced contract that won’t age well.
Kim would fit with the tigers approach of scrappy hitting but they need an all star righty hitter so that Greene and carpenter aren’t useless against left handed pitching
I am not sure adding a solid right handed bat would help Carpenter and Greene achieve better results against lefties unless you would consider benching them against lefties.
I think he would be worth every penny and his defense rocks. Perez has been sharing the load with Carp with good results. Still Bellinger would be nice to add on top of signing Kim.
It is not that I would not like to see Kim in a Tigers uniform, but he isn’t near the hitter Bregman is. Plus, they have Javy Baez for two more seasons so they really do not need a SS. He might not hit as well as many would like but he can still pick it at SS. Kim’s best offensive season was 2023 and he posted an OPS+ of 107. Not bad but hardly a big stick for the lineup. So not a massive upgrade. I’d rather see the Tigers sign Suarez. Sure not great defensively and a streaky hitter. But he is the power RHH the Tigers need if the can’t or won’t sign Bregman. Honestly would rather have them pursue Okamoto than any of the above.
Baez was awful post ASG, as he has been for 90% of his time in Detroit. Similar awfulness is expected I would imagine.
Baez played well in CF last year. Keith did fine at 3B. tick Kim at SS. I’d rather see them grab Bellinger and avoid Bregman altogether.
The Braves still need to be in on Kim. Hopefully they can find a way to bring him back.
Ugghh. How is this improving the team? He’s a good defensive 3B but a lifetime .700 OPS hitter who was injured most of last season. We need a big bat more than another utility player, and if we’re not going to sign one, keep McKinstry/Keith/Baez at 3B and put that $30M toward pitching instead please.
WHY??!!
I like Kim a lot, but where the Braves at?
Why does he deserve a 2/30 deal? Doesn’t a 1 year prove you are healthy deal make more sense?
Does Harris remember what was missing the second half? A solid consistent hitter who isn’t a worry for prolonged slumps like the entire lineup was the second half.
The trade proposal with the Twins for Byron Buxton is the best plan that’s been tabled so far.
Buck probably doesn’t want to play in Detroit
BBuxton really fills needs better than Kim or Bregman, IMO, but the Twins probably want Melton at least.
Or just sign Bellinger on top of Kim and get the same production without losing prospects.
I could live with that.
At some point, it would be nice to have a RH-ed hitting stud OF but those don’t seem to be as easy to obtain as they did back in the olden days.
Buxton is a great player but just so fragile. I agree about the RH hitter.
Hoping Yankees sign Kim for 2 years. Put him at SS until Volpe returns and have him as super utility infielder and much needed RH bat.
Yawn…wake me up when (if) the Tigers actually sign anyone vs. kicking the tires on almost everyone with a pulse
Man, it’s hard to love a cheap team. This is embarrassing. We need a potent right-hand bat, and the answer is to sign a career 230 hitter with limited power. Just sell the team, already. Picture me running to the Dodgers’ bandwagon. Illitch is trash.
Illitch just won’t spend the $$$$ as he’s hoping the current core improves & develops, so why $pend!
Sounds like the cheap option they’re always looking for.
Lol….
They’ve resorted to writing Bregman articles in disguise!
DISGUSTING! Kim is not even the subject of the article. This is a Bregman is better than Kim article. They should offer Bregman $20M/1yr and be done with it, not this insane stuff…You get to be on Skubals’ team.
The Tigers are committed to functioning on the cheap. Championships are not won by penny pinchers but that is what we,’ve seen so far.Exhibit A was the disaster that was the 2025 trade deadline transactions.The team has to know how fickle fans can be if they feel that the team has no interest in having quality players as opposed to those who will work cheap
Hard pass.
Sign him now Harris!!!
Hopefully the Tigers are just PROWLING and not STALKING. I don’t want them to POUNCE on this guy and TAKE HIM DOWN. I would rather they SPRINT and AMBUSH some starting pitcher(s) and big bat(s) like Bellinger, Alonso, King, Suarez….
Eventually, Harris has to do something….. I’m guessing. Veirling needs a shot.to prove himself I suppose…
Hopefully Harris is patient, not afraid.
He appears to work silently and patiently. When he does STRIKE, I expect it to be methodical and precise, ferocious and powerful, with extreme cunning.
Maybe he could be a Tiger then.
Bellinger and King would be nice adds too. The bullpen needs a makeover.
I don’t see why Bregman is so coveted by Detroit, he’s only a 4 per hundred an homer rate since 19. Comerica park is huge, so that’s probably going to fall too. Sure he’s good but not as elite as sports writers let on, definitely not 40 million a year worthy, plus he’s getting older. I hope they pass on him personally and go after a power bat.
It appears to be a conspiracy…..