MLB Insider Believes Detroit Tigers Star Is Locked in Ahead of 2026 Season
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For most major league players, one could reasonably expect that enduring a winter of trade rumors, an arbitration hearing and heading into the final year before free agency might challenge your focus and take some attention away from the field.
If you believe ESPN MLB insider Buster Olney, that isn't the case when it comes to two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
Skubal is, by Olney's account, locked in ahead of the 2026 season as he prepares to put a tumultuous offseason behind him and get ready for what is a hugely important campaign for both himself and his Detroit Tigers.
Olney Says Skubal is "Ignoring The Noise"
In visiting Tigers' Spring Training complex in Lakeland, Fla., Olney saw first-hand that there were no concerns about distractions or 'arbitration hangover' when it came to Skubal. In fact, apart from getting the 29-year-old staff ace to sign a contract extension, a winter that could have been disastrous ultimately could not have gone better.
Instead of trading Skubal and essentially starting over without one of the sport's best pitchers, Detroit loaded up around him. The club further bolstered their rotation by bringing in Framber Valdez and bringing back Justin Verlander to build what is now one of the league's best starting units. They also addressed their bullpen by adding veteran closer Kenley Jansen.
As for Skubal, who unsurprisingly won his arbitration hearing and will earn $32 million this season, the team's Opening Day starter seems to have put the offseason entirely behind him. Olney recounted an anecdote in which Tigers manager A.J. Hinch reached out to Skubal in the immediate aftermath of the arbitration hearing to ask if he was ready to go chase a World Series ring, to which the star lefty instantly replied, "yes."
As Olney pointed out, it is simply a part of Skubal's nature to lock in and dedicate himself completely to competing on the mound, including an uncanny ability to compartmentalize. After uncharacteristically allowing eight earned runs and 12 hits over 12 innings across two starts last May, he promptly turned in his first career complete game, a 13-strikeout, two-hit shutout of the Cleveland Guardians that doubled as his best outing of the season.
Olney and those within Detroit's organization believe that type of short memory will carry over when it comes to moving past trade rumors and looming questions regarding Skubal's post-2026 future. Whether he sticks around Motown or not might be at the forefront of most Tigers fans' minds, but their ace is too busy focusing on leading the club to a title.
Ben Fisher is a long-time sportswriter and baseball lover, dating back to 2008, when he was a member of the media relations team for the Toronto Blue Jays. He has covered a wide range of sports for a seemingly endless array of publications, including The Canadian Press, Fansided and The Hockey Writers. When he isn't writing about sports, he can be found coaching his equally baseball-obsessed sons' Little League teams.