A gap of over $200 million between Tarik Skubal and the Tigers

Tarik Skubal was the recipient of the American League's Cy Young Trophy in 2024 while winning the Pitchers' Triple Crown by leading the American League in wins, strikeouts and earned run average.

In 2025, he had an even better season statistically, lowering his earned-run average and WHIP and retiring even more batters on strikes than he did during the previous campaign.

So, if the Detroit Tigers experienced a historic collapse from July onwards, it certainly wasn't because of the ace pitcher, who held down the fort in both the regular season and the playoffs.

However, it seems that the left-hander's performances were not enough to prompt the Tigers to secure his long-term services, who had made Skubal an offer last season that was deemed non-competitive.

Latest On Tigers, Tarik Skubal https://t.co/3XdxfB7xyE pic.twitter.com/5qICaYQk9K

– MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) October 17, 2025

In fact, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the two sides are said to be about a quarter of a billion dollars apart in contract negotiations. That's right, we're talking about a difference of nearly $250 million.

Although the total sum and number of years are not disclosed, the baseline for Skubal's (represented by Scott Boras) next pact is expected to be around $400 million. We can therefore assume that the Tigers' offer didn't even reach $200 million.

With only one year in control of the team, we can increasingly expect the 28-year-old to be sent elsewhere before or during the 2026 campaign.

For Skubal to rank among the five highest-paid pitchers in Major League Baseball, he would need more than $35 million a year, which is exactly what Corbin Burnes is getting from the Arizona Diamondbacks. And he's not getting it in Detroit.

This content was created with the help of AI.