The Tigers and Tarik Skubal are nowhere close when it comes to a new contract for the reigning AL Cy Young winner.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the two sides are roughly $250 million apart, which more than likely has fans sweating and the team potentially looking at other options when it comes to their superstar lefty.
The Tigers had Skubal under contract this past season for $10.5 million and are expected to go to arbitration for 2026 before hitting free agency in 2027. Recently, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris publicly declined to disclose the club’s plans when it comes to how they’ll approach Skubal’s extension; however, he did hint that Tigers’ owner Chris Ilitch is supportive of doing what it takes to retain him.
Despite Ilitch’s supposed commitment to doing what it takes to retain Skubal, it doesn’t seem at all possible that the Tigers’ owner is going to fork over $250 million for the lefty ace. Which, if that’s the case, the Tigers may find themselves in a position where they are looking at the other aforementioned options, like potentially moving Skubal before potentially losing him to free agency at the end of next season.
Or they could place hope in Skubal possibly changing his mind in what he’s demanding monetarily towards the end of 2026, which is also an incredibly risky move and likely comes with Skubal having a down year, which probably isn’t going to happen.
