Tarik Skubal throws the football after Lions crushing loss to Steelers
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws passes at Ford Field in Detroit, after the Lions’ 29-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dec. 21, 2025.
Tarik Skubal will be in TigerTown.
At least, that’s the expectation, five weeks out.
Skubal is expected to be in spring training with the Detroit Tigers when it opens Feb. 11, ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote Tuesday, Jan. 6.
“Detroit has set a very high price tag on the lefty, and the expectation within the organization is that Skubal will be in their camp at the outset of spring training,” Olney reported.
The Tigers are listening to trade offers for Skubal − there are no untouchables, president of baseball operations Scott Harris said this winter − but a trade seems unlikely right now.
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Skubal – lined up to receive nearly $20 million in his final year of salary arbitration at Thursday’s deadline – plans to report Feb. 11 to TigerTown in Lakeland, Florida, when pitchers and catchers arrive for spring training.
“I love the city of Detroit,” Skubal said Nov. 12 before winning the 2025 American League Cy Young. “Hopefully, I’m here. I think that’s where I’m at with all that.”
Skubal – represented by agent Scott Boras – projects to become the first pitcher in MLB history to receive $400 million in free agency, but only if the Tigers let him reach the open market after the 2026 season.
There’s no reason to believe, thus far, an extension is coming. Only Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch can make that happen.
Jesse Rogers, in ESPN’s bold predictions for MLB in 2026, predicted the Tigers would trade Skubal in July to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Rogers wrote the potential new economic landscape starting in 2027 and rarity of a three-peat will have the Dodgers pushing all-in for another title in 2026.
“They can even afford to trade for Skubal as a rental if the move leads them to a third straight championship, whereas just about any other team would need to immediately sign him to a long-term deal in order to justify giving up the prospects it will undoubtedly take to land a back-to-back Cy Young Award winner,” Rogers wrote. “If the Tigers fall out of the race, L.A. simply makes too much sense as a landing spot for Skubal − that is assuming he’s not traded in the coming weeks.”
In a poll conducted on freep.com in mid-October garnering 3,802 votes over two days, 61.52% of respondents (2,339) voted to “trade Skubal this offseason before he leaves for nothing.” Just 12.26% (466 votes) voted to “play it out to the 2026 trade deadline,” while 26.22% (997 votes) wanted to “keep Skubal and hope to re-sign him after the 2026 season.”
The Tigers plan to have a starting pitching rotation of Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Reese Olson and Troy Melton, with backups Drew Anderson, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Keider Montero and Ty Madden, plus Jackson Jobe at some point in the second half upon his return from Tommy John surgery.
Free Press sports writer Evan Petzold contributed.
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