Tigers Have No One To Blame but Themselves for Worst-Case Tarik Skubal Predicament

Things are not looking good for a long-term deal between the Detroit Tigers and Tarik Skubal. And the franchise has no one to blame but itself.

Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

Despite being eliminated in the ALDS by the Seattle Mariners in an epic 15-inning Game 5, the Detroit Tigers have found themselves as a main topic of discussion during the LCS. But, not for a reason they want to be garnering headlines.

It has been revealed that contract extension talks with their ace, Tarik Skubal, are not going well. There is reportedly a massive gap between the two sides, with MLB insider Jon Heyman reporting that there is about a $250 million difference.

Alas, that number might actually be on the low side. As shared by Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, the number could actually be closer to $300 million.

That is because there are projections out there that have Skubal commanding a contract of at least $400 million in free agency. Heyman is using the only known number that has been offered to him by the Tigers: a four-year, $100 million deal.

Low-Ball Contract Extension for Tarik Skubal Coming Back To Haunt Tigers

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That contract extension was made after the 2024 season. It would have bought out his final two years of arbitration and two years of free agency, locking him into team control through the 2028 campaign.

An extension of that size would have been a franchise record. The previous record, as noted by Petzold, is five years and $80 million given to Justin Verlander in February 2010. Both offers were made when the pitchers reached four years of service time.

However, the situations for each player were much different. Verlander was the Rookie of the Year in 2006 and a two-time All-Star when he was presented the offer. Skubal was coming off a true breakout campaign, winning the American League Cy Young Award.

Seeing the trajectory of his career, Detroit tried to lock him down long-term. It may have been a historic offer for the franchise, but it was a non-competitive, low-ball offer in the current market of starting pitching.

It should come as no surprise that Skubal rejected that offer. And there is no one to blame but themselves for what is turning into a disastrous situation for the franchise.

Tigers Have Put Themselves Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Presenting such a low-ball offer to a player coming off an award-winning season is bad enough. Doing it to a Scott Boras client who is on the verge of winning the Cy Young award for a second consecutive year was likely a nail in the coffin.

There is a zero percent chance that Skubal and his representatives are going to knock down his price after he put together an even better regular season in 2025 than he did in 2024. The cherry on top is that he dominated when it mattered most in the playoffs.

The talented lefty etched his name in the MLB postseason record books with how well he pitched in the ALWC and ALDS. He had 36 strikeouts in three starts, the most in a three-game playoff span ever. Twice, he recorded at least 13 strikeouts, making him the first player to do that in a single postseason.

The Tigers knew that his price tag was only going to go up as long as he stayed healthy. Boras' clients almost always look to hit free agency, but if they had presented a competitive offer from the start, their stance may have changed.

Skub's 13 strikeouts are the most in a winner-take-all game in #Postseason history! pic.twitter.com/frm1yatGV7

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) October 11, 2025

Instead, they presented a four-year, $100 million offer that not a single person in the world would expect him to sign two years away from free agency. Now, they are stuck in a brutal predicament where trading their best player away has to be seriously considered.

Detroit has better odds of winning the World Series in 2026 if Skubal is on the roster. But their collapse down the stretch showed there is work to be done before this team can legitimately contend for a title.

If they aren’t willing to spend the kind of money it will take to lock their star down long-term, will they spend to upgrade the rest of the roster? This is a worst-case scenario the Tigers are currently embroiled in, and there is no one to blame but themselves for setting such a bad tone with their first extension offer.

---