Tarik Skubal has options.

As far as the Detroit Tigers are concerned, they simply really have to get their decision right. Trade, or extend, either way it has the potential to define the next decade of what the Tigers can do on the field.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel did a great breakdown of all the choices on Thursday in a new article.

The first eye-catching thing McDaniel notes is that Skubal could become MLB’s first $400 million pitcher.

The problem with that for Detroit is that the finances may not allow the Tigers to be the team that pays him that much.

“The real issue for Detroit is their payroll,” McDaniel writes. “They finished last season with a $155 million competitive balance tax (CBT) payroll figure, over $90 million below the first CBT tax threshold. If Skubal will be getting an AAV in the $30 millions or even the low $40 millions, can the Tigers really justify giving a quarter of their payroll to one player? Would Harris do that, or would signing Skubal be part of a larger move to a payroll number that can justify fitting Skubal in there as the Tigers see their peak competitive window opening? If McGonigle and Clark show up late in 2026 and look like future stars, that won’t bump the payroll, but it could make the Tigers look more competitive going forward and that could help their long-term case to Skubal, as well.”

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To get to $400 million, Skubal would shatter some of the marks currently on the table.

“The contract marks to beat are Yamamoto’s $325 million guarantee that is the most ever for pitchers and Max Fried’s $218 million guarantee that is tops among left-handers all-time,” McDaniel writes. “Both of those contracts were landed by agencies other than Boras Corp., and setting precedents is a large part of how top agencies market themselves to potential nine-figure clients.”

The Tigers, of course, could also trade Skubal. He’d likely fetch one of the best prospect hauls ever moved in a deal.

Detroit has a strong team besides Skubal. Loading up with more talent could set them up for success for years to come — if they land the right players in return.

Nothing else for the Tigers over the next handful of months matters more than getting this right. All of MLB is watching.

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