Tigers open to Tarik Skubal extension

Major League teams had their chance this past summer to make their best offer to the Tigers for Tarik Skubal. Now, three months after Skubal stayed put at the Trade Deadline, it’s the Tigers’ turn to make their best offer to keep the American League Cy Young Award favorite wearing the Olde English D for a long time.

It’s early in baseball’s offseason, especially for contract extensions. But both Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris and Skubal’s agent, Scott Boras, sound open to it, though not currently in discussions.

“Scott [Harris] and I are going to continue to talk about him,” Boras told reporters Wednesday at Major League Baseball’s General Managers Meetings in San Antonio, Texas. “Certainly, we have to go though the arbitration process [in January] and we’ll be, I’m sure, discussing contract.”

Boras’ comments are noteworthy, because he has a reputation for preferring his clients test free agency to maximize their value. Skubal, who has been represented by Boras since the Tigers drafted him in 2018, has two seasons to go before free agency, and is arbitration eligible this offseason. He was also arbitration eligible last offseason, when he and the Tigers settled on a one-year, $2.65 million contract.

After winning the American League pitching Triple Crown with 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts, plus an AL-best 2.50 FIP, Skubal is in line for raise. His 6.3 bWAR was highest among AL pitchers and seventh best among AL players overall. He has repeatedly stated his love for Detroit and his desire to get more involved in the community — he was the Tigers’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award this year — but he lets Boras handle contract questions.

Harris said at season’s end that he would not comment on individual negotiations, noting that they quietly negotiated a long-term contract with Colt Keith last offseason before announcing it. But when asked about a potential extension with Skubal, Harris sounded an upbeat, overarching tone.

“When I step back and I look at this team, we’ve got a long of young players that we are really high on, really bullish about their futures,” Harris said last month. “They’re already going to be together for a long time by nature of their service time. If we can extend the window for a lot of them, we’re going to try to do that.

“Again, you have to see eye to eye on all that stuff. My hope is that we are just announcing these things the way we did with Colt. I don’t think it’s constructive for me to comment on any of the individuals, and I don’t think it’s fair to them, given the sensitivity of those talks. But it’s another one of those questions that you want to keep getting asked to you, because it means you have players that are really talented, that want to be here and that are a big part of us winning.”

The Tigers have not signed a homegrown pitcher to a long-term extension since Justin Verlander. Like Skubal now, Verlander was two years away from free agency when he signed his first extension, a five-year, $80 million contract just before Spring Training in 2010. Three years, an AL MVP and a Cy Young award later, he signed a five year, $140 million extension beyond that.

While injuries are always a concern with pitchers, Skubal has shown himself to be a workout nut after undergoing flexor tendon surgery on his left arm in 2022. He has been dominant since his return, going 25-7 with a 2.51 ERA and 2.35 FIP in 46 starts over the last season and a half.

Although Harris is known more for shorter-term deals with pitchers, he has shown a willingness to extend long term. As Giants general manager, he signed Anthony DeSclafani to a three-year, $36 million extension after the free-agent right-hander had an outstanding first season in San Francisco in 2021. But DeSclafani has never had the type of season Skubal did this year.

The closer a pitcher gets to free agency, the easier it becomes for the pitcher to wait it out. The Tigers have experience with this, making Max Scherzer an offer heading into Spring Training of his contract year coming off his first Cy Young award. Scherzer, also a Boras client, declined the offer, posted another strong season and then signed a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Nationals as a free agent.