The Detroit Tigers are slowly setting themselves up to become a team that people will laugh at in a few years — especially if they let Tarik Skubal walk. Skubal is on the verge of winning his second Cy Young Award, but the Tigers appear unwilling to give him the contract he deserves.
“Two things I believe to be true. 1. Scott Boras and Tarik Skubal want to hit free agency a year from now. No extension this offseason. 2. The Tigers are not going all in to win with Skubal in 2026,” 97.1 The Ticket’s Jim Costa posted.
Skubal is more than deserving of a massive deal, and that’s exactly what he’s seeking. He’s the best left-handed pitcher in baseball right now, and there’s no doubt about it.
“Skubal is hoping for a new deal worth $400 million, according to Heyman, which would be the highest total contract value for a full-time starting pitcher,” Bleacher Report’s Andrew Peters wrote.
The Tigers, however, are nowhere near meeting that number. Instead, they’re reportedly trying to lowball the Cy Young winner.
“The Tigers and superstar pitcher Tarik Skubal have a lot of work to do if they’re going to bridge quite possibly the biggest gap in MLB negotiating history: an estimated quarter of a billion dollars. Yep, that’s not a misprint. It’s close to $250 million,” New York Post’s Jon Heyman wrote.
The New York Yankees could be one of the teams willing to go all in for Skubal, potentially sending Detroit a massive haul.
Tigers get: Jasson Domínguez, Luis Gil, Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, Dax Kilby
Yankees get: Tarik Skubal
“The Tigers front office should understand that the end goal of any Skubal trade should be acquiring as much talent as possible. That’s why prying Dominguez away from the Yankees after an up-and-down first year in the Bronx should be a priority for Detroit,” FanSided’s Rucker Haringey wrote.
Landing Skubal in the Bronx would be a blockbuster move. It would cost the Yankees a significant amount of talent, but the reward could be worth it.
New York is determined to strengthen its roster, and a trade for Skubal would do exactly that. If the deal becomes reality, Yankees fans would be ecstatic.
