The Detroit Tigers have been making headlines ever since the end of the season, and much of the attention has centered around Tarik Skubal and whether he’ll sign an extension with the team. There’s no doubt he’s one of the best arms in Major League Baseball, but the Tigers aren’t exactly known for paying top dollar.
“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.
The Tigers lost the division in a late-season collapse but still managed to beat the Cleveland Guardians in the Wild Card round. Even after Skubal gave it everything he had this postseason, there remains a massive gap between what Detroit is willing to pay and what Skubal’s camp is seeking.
“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.
In the latest update from ESPN’s Jeff Passan, he revealed an interesting development regarding Skubal — even after all the reported contract disputes.
“Not only would the Tigers like to re-sign Tarik Skubal, Tarik Skubal would like to stay in Detroit,” Passan said.
This is a surprising twist, especially after the two sides appeared to be on different pages since the Tigers’ ALCS loss to the Seattle Mariners. If Detroit truly wants to keep its ace, the front office will need to open the checkbook.
Skubal is one of the top pitchers in the league, and the Tigers’ worst-case scenario would be letting him hit free agency at the end of next season. A contract extension needs to get done soon — or it could spell bad news for Detroit.
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