If the Detroit Tigers believe agent Scott Boras refused to negotiate in the salary arbitration process after the Tigers offered $19.8 million to left-hander Tarik Skubal for the 2026 season, then Boras denies that characterization and says he remains open to continuing negotiations.
After that lone offer, the Tigers filed at $19 million and Skubal filed at $32 million ahead of the Jan. 8 deadline to exchange salary figures in preparation for an arbitration hearing. A panel of arbitrators in late January or early February will choose one of the two salaries, with no compromise in between.
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Boras wants to explain his side of the story.
“In this process, we reached an agreement on [first baseman Spencer] Torkelson because we agreed on the current comparable players,” Boras told the Free Press on Saturday, Jan. 17. “That is not something we were able to do with Skubal.”
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Scott Boras watches as Alex Bregman is introduced as a new Cubs player at a press conference at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026.
The Tigers appeared to reference a contract from nearly 11 years ago as a benchmark in valuing Skubal in his third and final year of salary arbitration, but Boras wanted to reference current players and their contracts.
The two sides couldn’t agree on comparability, making negotiations difficult.
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In Torkelson’s case, the Tigers and Boras agreed on comparable contracts, such as third baseman Alec Bohm at $4 million and first baseman Ryan Mountcastle at $4.1375 million, both from 2024. With that comparability, the Tigers and Torkelson avoided an arbitration hearing by settling at $4.075 million for 2026.
That’s not what happened in Skubal’s case.
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In 2015, left-hander David Price set the record for an arbitration-eligible pitcher by signing for $19.75 million with the Tigers. At the time, that was the arbitration record for all players – both pitchers and position players. It’s still the benchmark for pitchers, but outfielder Juan Soto set the latest record for position players when he signed for $31 million in 2024.
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The Price salary from 2015 shaped the Tigers’ pre-filing offer to Skubal at $19.8 million for 2026 – just a $50,000 increase from Price’s record-setting agreement, even though the arbitration market has evolved significantly over the past decade.
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher David Price walks back to the dugout at the end of the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, July 28, 2015.
In Skubal’s case, Boras wanted to reference more recent contracts in the salary arbitration process, including Soto at $31 million in 2024, two-way player Shohei Ohtani at $30 million in 2023, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at $28.5 million in 2025 and outfielder Mookie Betts at $27 million in 2020.
The key is a clause within the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association that allows arbitration-eligible players with at least five years of MLB service time to compare themselves to any player – not just past arbitration-eligible players. Therefore, Skubal can compare himself in an arbitration hearing to right-hander Zack Wheeler, who is MLB’s highest-paid pitcher for 2026, at $42 million.
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Boras believes Skubal’s value aligns with the best players in baseball.
That’s why Skubal filed at $32 million.
Skubal is the first back-to-back American League Cy Young winner in the 21st century, leading the AL with a 2.39 ERA in 2024 and a 2.21 ERA in 2025. Beginning July 4, 2023, when he returned from flexor tendon surgery, his 15.9 fWAR ranks seventh among all players, trailing only Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., Ohtani, Francisco Lindor, Cal Raleigh and Soto. The 29-year-old projects to become the first pitcher in MLB history to secure a $400 million contract after he reaches free agency in November 2026.
He is an elite talent with special accomplishments.
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Looking ahead, the Tigers and Skubal are gearing up for an arbitration hearing in late January or early February after filing $13 million apart for the 2026 season.
The historic showdown will set a precedent for how superstar pitchers like Skubal (and eventually right-hander Paul Skenes) are treated in the arbitration process.
The Tigers – led by president of baseball operations Scott Harris – operate as a file-and-trial team in salary arbitration, which means they won’t partake in further negotiations regarding one-year contracts after the deadline to exchange salary figures.
But Boras wants to continue the negotiations.
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“There are no deadlines for negotiating, other than when we go to the hearing and turn the case over to arbitrators,” Boras said. “There’s no baseball rule that says you can’t negotiate. It’s the Tigers’ philosophy where they stop negotiations, but that’s their choice, not ours. We’re continuing to negotiate, and we’ll always do so in good faith – up until the hearing when the arbitrators decide.”
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Compromise could still emerge before the arbitration hearing.
A one-year deal with a player option – technically a two-year contract – would preserve the Tigers’ self-imposed file-and-trial approach, all while maintaining Skubal’s path to free agency and providing him some security in case of an injury.
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Time is running out, though.
“We are open to negotiate,” Boras said. “There are no deadlines from Tarik Skubal’s camp.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal arbitration: Scott Boras wants to use comparable salaries