Red Sox predicted to lose Alex Bregman to dark-horse AL suitor

On Thursday, Matt Vautour of MassLive predicted that the Red Sox's inaction would ultimately signal an unwillingness to meet Bregman on his terms, and that the 31-year-old All-Star would sign with the Tigers by the end of the offseason.

"He’ll get more years than they want to give," wrote Vautour. "But they’ll be really excited about Triston Casas’ return in spring training, while Bregman is bringing his leadership and wisdom to the Tigers."

Vautour isn't one of MassLive's Red Sox insiders, but he certainly has his finger on the pulse of the organization. The general sentiment around those closest to the beat seems to be that yes, Boston wants Bregman back, but not if he costs them more than they're comfortable paying.

Sound familiar? That approach paid off for the Sox last offseason when Bregman was willing to take a three-year, $120 million deal with an opt-out to try to re-enter the market with no qualifying offer. This time around, it doesn't seem nearly as likely that he'll do a deal for less than five years.

Right now, the Tigers don't seem like the second-most aggressive suitor even if Boston isn't first.

But could that change as time creeps along and Bregman gets frustrated with the way his most recent team has slow-played him? It's far from out of the question.