The Detroit Tigers have to sit at home and watch the MLB postseason, as they failed to advance beyond the regular season for the first time since 2023. And one of the moves made by president of baseball operations Scott Harris during the campaign was the difficult trade of ace pitcher Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Skubal joined a stacked Dodgers club looking to become the first team in over a quarter century to win three straight World Series titles; the last team to do so was the New York Yankees.
Skubal is also a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of the campaign, and the prevailing thought is that he could fetch a contract worth up to or even more than $400 million.
Former Detroit Tigers Pitcher Tarik Skubal Could Be Retained By The Dodgers For A Hefty Price
According to former New York Mets general manager Jim Duquette, it wouldn’t be surprising in the least to see Skubal land a contract worth upwards of $400 million from either the Dodgers or the Mets, noting that they are the two clubs most likely to be able to afford to make that kind of offer.
“I do think that it gets to $400 (million),” he said. “I think it’ll be the Dodgers and I do think it’ll be the Mets. Those are the two teams that will be most interested and most able to afford him.”
Meanwhile, MLB ESPN Insider Jeff Passan recently speculated that the price tag on Skubal’s next contract could easily fetch far more than the $245 million that Stephen Strasburg signed for.
“The number will be huge,” Passan said. “Bear in mind that Skubal turns 30 in November and never before has a pitcher age 30 or older received more than Stephen Strasburg’s $245 million (on a seven-year deal) in free agency. Provided there is no salary cap, Skubal could get double that.”
Passan continued:
“A deal of that magnitude would presumably be for at least a decade — the sort of commitment teams might balk at because of his age. But someone is going to pay an exorbitant amount for his services. And he is going to be at the heart of the salary cap debate all the while, because barely a handful of teams are interested in paying $50 million a year for 33 starts.”
Tigers Executive Scott Harris Does Not Regret Trading Tarik Skubal
During his season-ending media availability on Monday, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris indicated that he didn’t regret the trades of either Skubal or Casey Mize.
“I think the answer is still no, I don’t have regrets over that,” he said of the trades on Monday.
“I think the third part maybe added into the question is – I didn’t share this with you guys at the time, but I was very much thinking about it,” he continued. “When you have a 6-22 May, you put yourself on a path with no margin for error. You can’t afford another downturn. You can’t afford to have a situation where injuries and underperformance, or just fatigue from June, July and August, ultimately bites you in August and September.
Ex-Tiger Tarik Skubal’s Next Move Could Make History