Tarik Skubal Wasn’t Blindsided by Tigers Signing Former Astros Star
In this story:
In early February, Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal’s offseason was interrupted by his arbitration hearing.
Instead of being in Lakeland, Fla., to prepare for the start of spring training he was preparing to face an arbitration panel to determine what he would be paid for the 2026 season.
If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.
In an odd bit of timing, just a few hours after his arbitration hearing ended, news broke that the Tigers had signed left-hander Framber Valdez to a three-year, $115 million contract. To outsiders it felt like a slap in the face to the two-time reigning American League Cy Young winner — at least until he got the biggest arbitration victory in baseball history, a $32 million deal for 2016.
Valdez had waited most of the offseason for a deal and the Tigers kept their interest well-hidden. But was it a surprise to Skubal?
Tarik Skubal on Framber Valdez’s Signing
As it turns out, Skubal had a good hunch that the Tigers were going to sign Valdez, as he told Ben Verlander during an appearance on his podcast, “Flippin’ Bats.”
“I had an idea,” Skubal said. “I’m not saying I helped recruit him but yeah, they set up some phone calls for to hop on and talk to him about what the Tigers are about. So, I had an idea for sure before it came out.”
He also said he knew about the Justin Verlander signing two days before it became official as he was texted by the Tigers front office that the former ace was coming in on a one-year deal.
Skubal made it sounds like a more-the-merrier kind of situation.
“I’m obviously fired up for both of them,” he said.
With Skubal entering his final year of team control, the clock is ticking for him to bring a World Series to Detroit, which would be the team’s first since 1984. Detroit didn’t offer him a long-term deal this offseason and has no plans to do so until the 2026 season is done. There is also potential labor strife on the way as the collective bargaining agreement expires in December.
The lefty is also shooting for some history, as only a handful of starting pitchers have won three Cy Youngs, much less three in a row. Justin Verlander is one of them.
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.
Follow postinspostcard