Tarik Skubal Never Got Tigers Contract Proposal, 'Won't Be an Offer Until the End of the Season'

It turns out the most extensive contract talks Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers had after the 2025 season may have been when they were in an arbitration hearing to determine his salary for this year.

Speaking to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, Skubal said the Tigers never made him a long-term offer in the offseason and there "won't be an offer until the end of the season" when he can potentially hit free agency.

"There is no offer, and there won't be an offer until the end of the season. ... My focus is on playing baseball and winning this year," Skubal said. "I'll deal with the contract stuff at the end of the year, and then we'll kind of see. And that's fine. It's their decision."

Even though there was no indication the Tigers came close to trading Skubal in the offseason, there have been strong hints they aren't going to make him a serious offer before hitting free agency.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported in October that Skubal and the Tigers had a gap of "close to $250 million" at one point.

According to Nightengale, Detroit's only long-term offer to Skubal came two years ago and was worth less than $80 million.

At the time, that didn't seem like a wholly unreasonable proposal. Skubal was coming off his best season in 2023 with a 2.80 ERA, but he only pitched 80.1 innings while recovering from flexor tendon surgery the previous year.

Things have changed dramatically for Skubal since that time. He has won the AL Cy Young award in each of the past two seasons and leads all qualified pitchers in ERA (2.30) and fWAR (12.6).

Heyman noted that Skubal's "baseline ask" on a long-term extension was $400 million. The current record for richest contract given to a pitcher is Yoshinobu Yamamoto's $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The difference between Skubal and the Tigers was further emphasized earlier this offseason in their respective arbitration filings. He filed at $32 million, while the Tigers countered at $19 million.

Skubal won and will receive a $32 million salary in 2026, marking the richest arbitration deal in MLB history. The previous high mark was Juan Soto's $31 million contract with the New York Yankees in 2024 that was signed before they went to arbitration.

Tigers owner Chris Ilitch gave a vague response when asked by The Athletic's Cody Stavenhagen earlier this week about Skubal's future in Detroit:

"I would say Scott Harris is always looking to make smart baseball decisions. Whether it's acquiring players or investing in infrastructure. I hope it's clear I want to support our team to make sure that we are a championship-caliber organization. So let's let Scott evaluate and decide what he'd like to do, but I think I'm going to do everything I can to continue to support our team and make sure we're a championship-type club. So let's see how it all plays out."

While there will be a lot of hand-wringing from Tigers fans nervous about the possibility of a future without Skubal, there is plenty of earned optimism about the team going into 2026.

Skubal has helped the Tigers make the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. They signed Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander to boost their rotation, while top prospects Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark could be with the MLB club sooner than later to boost the lineup.

There are a lot of pieces in place for the Tigers to be a strong playoff contender in the AL, possibly a World Series contender depending on how quickly young players like McGonigle and Clark adapt to big-league pitching.

All indications right now, though, suggest that Skubal will eventually hit free agency and end up signing a record-breaking contract with another club. If this season goes really well for the Tigers, maybe they decide to engage their ace in long-term talks with the hope of retaining him.