Tarik Skubal: Uncertain future for the Detroit Tigers star?
The MLB 2025-26 offseason is looming with questions, especially for the Detroit Tigers. Although they won’t have figures like Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, or Juan Soto, the potential availability of Tarik Skubal, the team’s star pitcher, could be the central theme of the market.
Skubal, after two consecutive awards as American League Player of the Year and the Tigers’ qualification for the postseason, is in the last year of his contract. His potential arrival in free agency in the winter of 2026 could break records, even surpassing Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers and aiming to be the first pitcher to reach $400 million.
Faced with this situation, Tigers’ president of baseball operations, Scott Harris, faces a crucial decision with three main options.
Options for the Tigers
- Immediate Trade: This option, although unpopular among experts, would imply a significant return for the Tigers.
- Trade at the Deadline: If the team’s performance is not as expected in the first half of the 2026 season, this could be the most sensible move.
- Keep Skubal: A risky bet, but one that could offer the Tigers the opportunity to compete for a title with their ace on the mound.
Harris’s decision will impact the future of the franchise and the MLB landscape. The market will determine Skubal’s value, with the possibility of an agreement before free agency or a trade that could reconfigure the team.
The negotiation context is complicated by the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in December 2026, which could influence the decisions of Skubal and his agent, Scott Boras.
The contracts to be addressed are those of Yamamoto and Max Fried. Keeping Skubal would imply an effort for the team, so the team’s approach could be to offer a shorter contract with the possibility of opting out, to ensure his permanence.
The Tigers’ financial situation also plays an important role. With a budget of $155 million last season, the team will need to assess whether it can justify allocating a significant portion of its budget to a single player.
Ultimately, the Tigers’ decision on Tarik Skubal’s future could chart the course of the franchise and have a considerable impact on the league.
