Tarik Skubal is likely to win his second Cy Young in as many years and is undoubtedly one of the two best pitchers in all of sport. He’s set to get a big payday when he becomes a free agent after the 2026 season, but it appears that payday won’t come from the Detroit Tigers.
It was reported that negotiations between Skubal and the Tigers were at a standstill after the two sides’ offers were $250 million apart. This is one of the less surprising outcomes of the Skubal negotiations because: first, he is represented by Scott Boras and every player represented by him will bleed his team for every penny he can, and second, unlike his father, Tigers owner Chris Illitch is not willing to bring big money to the table like his father.
This leaves Detroit in an impossible situation. They can’t afford Skubal, and in their defense, maybe five teams in the sport could afford a guy like him. The problem is, there may not be a more valuable player to a team coming off a playoff run than Skubal is to the Tigers. He carried this pitching staff through the postseason and did the best job possible of filling the holes in this lineup.
The Tigers have one of the best farm systems in the sport with guys like Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark on the verge of breaking into the big leagues, but there’s a real chance they won’t be able to play with the best pitcher in the American League. If Detroit doesn’t feel like they can win a World Series, do they start thinking about moving Skubal this offseason or at the deadline?
Even if this were a team renting Skubal on a one-year deal, the gain they could get in exchange for a player they can’t resign might be worth it. If they could convince a New York team or the Dodgers to make a trade, then they could get a huge payoff as they would become the favorites to resign him. Well, maybe not since I’m sure the Yankees thought they would have Juan Soto for the rest of his career until Boras found even more money for him with the Mets.
Baseball would be better if the Tigers could find a way to keep Tarik Skubal, and I think if they can get close to his best deal, he’ll stay in Detroit…unless Scott Boras has the final say on who signs his paychecks in 2027.
