ESPN reports on a $400 million contract update for Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal.

Billy Heyen

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Tigers' Tarik Skubal gets $400 million contract update from ESPN image

TL;DR

  • Tarik Skubal could become MLB's first $400 million pitcher, but Detroit's payroll may prevent the Tigers from offering it.
  • The Tigers must decide whether to trade Skubal for prospects or extend his contract, impacting their future competitiveness.
  • Skubal's potential contract would shatter existing records for pitchers, like Yamamoto's $325 million guarantee.
  • Trading Skubal could yield a highly valuable prospect package, crucial for the Tigers' long-term success.

Tarik Skubal has options.

Regarding the Detroit Tigers, they absolutely must make the correct choice. Whether they trade or extend, the outcome could shape the Tigers' on-field performance for the next ten years.

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel did a great breakdown of all the choices on Thursday in a new article.

The first eye-catching thing McDaniel notes is that Skubal could become MLB's first $400 million pitcher.

Detroit's issue is that their financial situation might prevent the Tigers from being the club that offers him such a high salary.

"The real issue for Detroit is their payroll," McDaniel writes. "They finished last season with a $155 million competitive balance tax (CBT) payroll figure, over $90 million below the first CBT tax threshold. If Skubal will be getting an AAV in the $30 millions or even the low $40 millions, can the Tigers really justify giving a quarter of their payroll to one player? Would Harris do that, or would signing Skubal be part of a larger move to a payroll number that can justify fitting Skubal in there as the Tigers see their peak competitive window opening? If McGonigle and Clark show up late in 2026 and look like future stars, that won't bump the payroll, but it could make the Tigers look more competitive going forward and that could help their long-term case to Skubal, as well."

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To get to $400 million, Skubal would shatter some of the marks currently on the table.

"The contract marks to beat are Yamamoto's $325 million guarantee that is the most ever for pitchers and Max Fried's $218 million guarantee that is tops among left-handers all-time," McDaniel writes. "Both of those contracts were landed by agencies other than Boras Corp., and setting precedents is a large part of how top agencies market themselves to potential nine-figure clients."

The Tigers might also consider trading Skubal. Such a move would probably yield one of the most valuable prospect packages ever seen in a trade.

Beyond Skubal, Detroit boasts a formidable team. Acquiring additional talent might secure their long-term success, provided they secure suitable player acquisitions.

For The Tigers, nothing else over the coming months is more critical than achieving this objective. All of Major League Baseball is observing.

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Senior Editor