It Sure Sounds Like Tarik Skubal Has One Foot Out The Door In Detroit

Tarik Skubal is starting Game 2 for the United States in the World Baseball Classic in just a few hours, but that's not the part of his future that's most interesting. 

Skubal, arguably the game's best pitcher and the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, is a free agent at the end of the 2026 season. In 2025, he had a 2.21 ERA, went 13-6 in 195.1 innings with 241 strikeouts, allowing just 33 walks. Somehow, that was an improvement on his already stellar 2024 numbers.

Pitching, especially reliable starting pitching, is at a premium in modern baseball. And it's hard to get more reliable than Skubal over the past two seasons. Unsurprisingly, then, trade rumors were flying during the 2025-2026 offseason. Most notably, the Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly checked in with the Detroit Tigers as to his availability.

RELATED: Reports Confirm Serious Dodgers-Tigers Trade Discussions For Cy Young Winner Tarik Skubal

Well, Skubal spoke a bit about his future in Detroit recently and, based on his comments, it doesn't seem like there's much chance he's staying put for the foreseeable future.

CLEVELAND - Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers reacts after the sixth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on September 23, 2025. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Tarik Skubal Says Tigers Haven't Made Long-Term Offer

Skubal, speaking to USA Today Sports recently, said that the Tigers haven't made him a long-term offer of any kind. And while that doesn't bother him, that does not bode well for Detroit fans hoping to keep him in a Tiger uniform.

"For the most part, I try to live in the moment," he said, "and just appreciate where my feet are, and continue to strive to the best version of myself."

"There is no offer," he said. "And there won’t be an offer until the end of the season. My focus is on playing baseball and winning this year. I’ll deal with the contract stuff at the end of the year, and then we’ll kind of see. And that’s fine. It’s their decision."

Skubal's expected, if healthy, to command one of the largest contracts in Major League Baseball history for a pitcher, and while the Tigers have shown some willingness to spend money, signing Framber Valdez this winter, Javy Baez recently, and bringing back Jack Flaherty, they're still a smaller-market team. Rumors had suggested they'd offered Skubal an extension around $100 million, but these comments imply even that didn't happen.

He said his focus is on "trying to win a World Series," but if the Tigers are to fall out of contention midway through the season, what happens?

"That’s where my focus is, trying to win a World Series for the city of Detroit, the team that drafted me in 2018," he explained. "The Tigers fans are excited, they’re really invested in this club, and so are we. There’s a different energy in camp this year about the guys that we brought in and additions that we've made, and there's a true belief in trying to win a World Series. I think that's awesome."

Detroit might rationally assess that if they can't re-sign him, or even make a serious effort, the smart decision is to trade him to a team in the playoff hunt, for a haul of prospects. Any contending team would want him, and if, say, the Dodgers have their traditional injuries in the rotation, they could make an offer Detroit can't refuse. Or just wait for the offseason and make him the offer Detroit apparently won't. It's easy to say "small market," but the point of baseball is winning, and having Tarik Skubal on your team helps accomplish that. Going over budget for the best pitcher in baseball is worth it. We'll see if Detroit's willing to do so.