Yahoo Sports senior MLB analyst Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz break down where the Detroit Tigers stand with Tarik Skubal and say that now is the time to hang onto their star pitcher. Hear the full conversation on the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
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Video Transcript
The Tigers of Detroit, who have also been very quiet this off-season.
What do they need?
What do they need, Ben?
they need to- They need clarity.
They need clarity.
Clarity, babe.
They need clarity.
Clarity.
Ryan Clarity.
I mean, is saying, “Well, they What are you gonna do?
They don’t know whether how much they’re paying Skubal.”
It’s a convenient excuse.
So let’s, let’s talk- Yeah … about that quickly.
So without the risk of explaining arbitration right now, this current setup is that the Tigers are going to an arbitration hearing with Tarik Skubal, best pitcher on the planet.
When they go to arbitration, that’ll happen at some point in, like, the next couple of weeks, Skubal will either get paid $19 million or $32 million.
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The team filed at 19, Skubal filed at 32.
There is no splitting the difference, and so a trio of independent arbitrators will determine what that number is.
And so what I have kind of been told is that the Tigers are effectively waiting to see whether they have an extra $13 million to spend if they win the Skubal hearing.
Now, what is silly about that is that they should be spending either way, because chances are they’re only gonna have Tarik Skubal for one more season.
There’s a lot that is going well in this organization.
They have the second-best prospect in baseball in Kevin McGonagal, another top 10 guy in Max Clark.
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Riley Green is a really talented young player.
He’s been an all-star.
But, like, now is the time.
Skubals don’t grow on trees, they grow in the desert, and it’s a once-in-a-generation type of dude, and it has been incredibly disappointing for them to not capitalize on that.
And so it’s like, let’s say they win the Skubal case.
Are they gonna, like, go give out huge money to Framber Valdez or Zach Gallen?
Doesn’t really feel like it- No … does it?
Because I think they need to- Might be too late … upgrade the offensive unit.
Yeah, and that’s the whole thing.
Absolutely.
When you say it might be too late- Yeah … this, this team needed that clarity earlier in the winter, and so their inability to get to a number with Skubal when they could negotiate a number with Skubal, left them out on the in the cold on a number of offensive free agents that might have moved the needle for them.