Tarik Skubal Reveals What Really Happened During Tigers Arbitration Hearing
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Tarik Skubal likes to get to Florida around Feb. 1 for spring training. He’s done so every year. He says he likes to get his feet under him before workouts with pitchers and catchers begin.
Well, this year he wasn’t in Lakeland, Fla., on Feb. 1 as he prefers. He was preparing for an arbitration hearing, a hearing that turned out to be the most notable arbitration hearing in Major League history.
The two-time American League Cy Young winner knew things were different when he showed up the night before to meet with his agent, Scott Boras.
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“He walked me into a room of 40 to 50 people that worked for Boras Corp., and they were all dialed in on what was going on,” Skubal said to Ben Verlander on an episode of “Flippin’ Bats. “There was coffee everywhere and I’m like, ‘Guys, it’s 8 p.m., let’s go to bed. You guys are more than prepared. Drink some water, let’s go to bed.’”
Tarik Skubal’s Arbitration Hearing
Skubal and the Tigers were so far apart on their figures for arbitration it set records. The Tigers offered $19 million and Skubal and his agent countered with $32 million. The hearing lasted more than four hours, including breaks. He said it was a great experience because he learned about the actual hearing process and can help educate other players on it. He still called the fact that he had to go through the hearing “frustrating.”
His experience was different. He confirmed that his agent was able to use salary comparisons for sixth-year players, ones that had hit free agent, because of Skubal’s service time. It’s part of the reason why he won the hearing. But, unlike a baseball game, there is no scoreboard in arbitration, which includes a three-person panel.
“There’s no conversation with the arbitrators,” he said. “You don't get a reasoning why. It's just win or lose — that's it. There's no explanation of why they chose which side or what the vote was because there's three of them and they don’t have to be unanimous.”
Now, it’s on to the season. Skubal will pitch in the World Baseball Classic for one game before returning to Tigers spring training. Then it’s on to the regular season where he hopes to help Detroit contend for its first World Series title since 1984.
The left-hander has been brilliant the past two seasons. In 2024 he went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts as he won the American League pitching triple crown. That helped him win his first Cy Young and finish seventh in AL MVP voting.
Last year his won-loss record wasn’t quite as good, as he went 13-6. But he bettered his 2024 season other respects, including a 2.21 ERA and 241 strikeouts. He won his second Cy Young and finished fifth in AL MVP voting.
He became the 12th pitcher in Major League history to win back-to-back Cy Young awards and the second Tigers player to do it. Denny McLain won the award in 1968 and 1969.
Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Major League Baseball for OnSI. He also covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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