The Detroit Tigers are one of the best teams in baseball, entering Monday’s action with a 43-24 record and a seven-game lead over the Minnesota Twins for first place in the American League Central. While there are many reasons why the Tigers have built on last season’s playoff appearance, the biggest may be the evolution of Tarik Skubal into a true ace.
The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner is on track to repeat so far this season as he’s gone 6-2 with a 2.16 ERA in 83.1 innings, but his contract is becoming an issue as he’s set to become a free agent after the 2026 season. Extending the left-hander should be one of the Tigers’ top priorities as they build toward the future and general manager Jeff Greenberg confirmed that during an interview on MLB Network Radio last week.
“Obviously elite talent and elite compete,” Greenberg said of Skubal. “He’s constantly looking to get better…in terms of the extension stuff, [Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris] and I have talked about it since we got here. One of the foundational goals here is to acquire, develop, retain as much elite talent as we can. We’re going to keep those conversations behind closed doors.”
Extending Tarik Skubal Should Be Tigers Top Priority Going Forward
While Greenberg didn’t state any specifics about negotiations with Skubal, he also noted the Tigers would like to keep him around. This is a great idea as few pitchers have been better since Skubal returned from flexor tendon surgery in 2023.
The 28-year-old ranks first in FIP (2.23) and WHIP (0.891); second in strikeout to walk ratio (8.17) and third in ERA (2.43) among starting pitchers with a minimum of 20 starts over the past three seasons and should be in line for another All-Star appearance this summer. While the Tigers haven’t spent massive money on a contract in recent years, they’ve been willing to spend adding Javier Baez and Jack Flaherty and also being a top suitor for Alex Bregman in free agency.
But Skubal’s negotiations will be complicated due to the state of the pitching market where Max Fried (eight years, $218 million) and Corbin Burnes (six years, $210 million) set the price last offseason. While Fried is currently competing with Skubal for the Cy Young Award with an 8-1 record and 1.78 record for the New York Yankees, Burnes suffered a season-ending elbow injury last week that could jeopardize his availability for next season with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Other high-priced pitchers such as Gerrit Cole, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have also spent time on the injured list in recent seasons and paying a pitcher could have high-priced repercussions if that player doesn’t stay on the mound.
Any negotiation between the Tigers and Skubal will start with Fried’s numbers from last winter. But the Tigers also need to be careful investing in a pitcher that has already had arm problems. Skubal’s current performance could negate those concerns but it’s something to keep an eye on as the Tigers look to commit to the southpaw long-term.