LAKELAND, Fla. — Tarik Skubal did not stumble into one of the most consequential arbitration victories in Major League Baseball history.
He prepared for it, and he believed in it.
Skubal said he and his agent, Scott Boras, had long anticipated that his final year of arbitration would present a rare opportunity to pursue an aggressive and untested strategy to maximize his salary. The two-time reigning American League Cy Young winner has been the most dominant pitcher in baseball over the past two seasons, posting a 2.21 ERA in 2025 with 241 strikeouts in 195 1/3 innings before adding three dominant playoff starts in October.
When the Detroit Tigers filed at $19 million and Skubal countered at $32 million — the widest gap ever to reach a hearing — the stakes were clear.
“I have a great agent and a team of 40 to 50 people that have been working on this for over a year and kind of knew this was going to happen and were prepared for it,” Skubal said.
A three-person arbitration panel sided with Skubal, awarding him $32 million for 2026, the highest salary ever granted to an arbitration-eligible player.
On Thursday, Skubal spoke about the decision with unmistakable pride, like someone who had just watched a well-executed game plan lead to victory.
“They were able to present and prove to a panel of three arbitrators that I’m worth the amount of money that I’m worth, and my value,” Skubal said. “To walk into those rooms with the amount of people that are there and the amount of people that have my back is something that I’ll never forget.”
By invoking a rarely used provision that allowed him to compare himself to all players in baseball, not just arbitration-eligible players with similar service time, Skubal may also have set a precedent that will benefit future players.
“A rising tide lifts all boats,” he said. “To be able to go in there and prove what I’m worth is something I do take pride in.”
Skubal is entering his final season of team control and will become a free agent after the 2026 season. His name circulated frequently in trade speculation throughout the winter, a byproduct of both his dominance and his approaching free agency.
“You see a lot of stuff,” Skubal said. “I probably had one of the more public offseasons in terms of my name being thrown around. But it’s out of my control. What’s in my control is being the best baseball player I can be, and that’s kind of where my focus is at with all that stuff going on.”
Now, with his salary settled, Skubal said the focus is back on the field.
“The business for ’26 is done,” Skubal said. “You can never let anything like that impact you. I want to win, and I want to win as bad as anybody.”
Scott Harris, the Tigers president of baseball operations, said the organization’s relationship with Skubal remains strong.
“We love Tarik. The relationship is great,” Harris said. “I’m not a big fan of arbitration generally. We’ve settled with every single player since I’ve been here and avoided a hearing room except for Tarik. That’s how this process goes. I’m just glad it’s over. I’m glad we can focus on baseball. I’m glad we can focus on all that this roster can achieve this year. I think that’s the general sentiment on all this stuff. A lot of the business stuff is done at this point, and let’s just focus on getting better over the next seven weeks.”