The Tigers came to terms with seven of their eight remaining players who are eligible for arbitration this offseason on Thursday.
The one exception was noteworthy.
Detroit did not reach an agreement with two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal prior to Thursday’s 8 p.m. ET deadline. Consequently, the two sides are poised to have an arbitration hearing to determine the lefty’s salary for 2026, and they exchanged figures on Thursday with a wide margin.
A source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand that Skubal filed at $32 million, while the Tigers filed at $19 million.
The Tigers and Skubal -- who is entering his final season of club control before he may become a free agent -- can continue to negotiate terms before a potential hearing, which would take place between Jan. 26-Feb. 13. However, Detroit’s approach is typically to treat the exchange date as a hard deadline, which would leave the final decision on the salary figure in the hands of an arbitration panel.
Detroit’s last arbitration hearing came in 2019, with right-hander Michael Fulmer.
If Skubal goes to a hearing and wins, he would set a new record for the largest one-year salary received by any player in arbitration.
The current record for a pitcher is held by David Price, the former Tigers lefty who agreed to a one-year deal with Detroit worth $19.75 million in 2015. The overall record is held by Juan Soto, whose one-year agreement with the Yankees in 2024 was worth $31 million.
In any case, Skubal is set to receive a significant raise from 2025, when he earned $10.15 million in his second year of arbitration eligibility. The 29-year-old delivered another dominant season in 2025, in which he became the first pitcher to win consecutive AL Cy Young Awards since Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000.
Skubal led AL pitchers with 6.5 WAR, per Baseball Reference. In 195 1/3 innings over 31 starts, he recorded a 2.21 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP and a 187 ERA+ -- the latter three of which led the AL.
Trade speculation has cropped up this winter around Skubal given he is entering his final season of contractual control. While the Tigers have not specifically addressed whether they would entertain any inquiries on the left-hander, they have maintained a blanket position of no players ever being untouchable in trade talks.
Of course, by no means does that indicate anything about Skubal’s status, as he remains a crucial cog to Detroit's success. And for his part, after Skubal won the Cy Young Award in November, he noted he hoped to be in Detroit in 2026.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch was asked about Skubal this week during a local radio appearance.
“I love everything about Tarik,” Hinch said on Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. “Everybody should, and the reason that there are so many conversations around him, or so many curiosities around him, or so much coverage, it's because he is on top of the sport right now and he's a Detroit Tiger. And I love that.”
Beyond Skubal, the Tigers came to terms on Thursday with Casey Mize ($6.15 million), Riley Greene ($5 million), Zach McKinstry ($4.2 million), Spencer Torkelson ($4.075 million), Will Vest ($3.95 million), Kerry Carpenter ($3.275 million) and Tyler Holton ($1.575 million) to avoid arbitration.