Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal accepted his second straight Cy Young Award Saturday, and quickly talked about being back this time next year to accept a third trophy. But the big question is, which team will he make his final start for in 2026 in the final year of his contract.
Detroit Tigers great Tarik Skubal accepted his second straight Cy Young Award on Saturday night at a dinner in New York. He joined a very select group of left-handers who have gone back-to-back. Only Sandy Koufax, Randy Johnson and Clayton Kershaw have done it.
Koufax and Kershaw didn't get the three-peat. Johnson did, doing it four straight years with the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1999 to 2002. For Skubal, the chase is on.
“Skip, for the sake of superstition and a three-peat, let’s go ahead and keep the same plan for a year from now,” Skubal said to manager A.J. Hinch during his acceptance speech.
In presenting the AL Cy Young Award to Detroit's Tarik Skubal at Saturday's Baseball Writers Association of America dinner, Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter noted that Skubal is just the fourth lefty to win it in consecutive seasons.
Skubal said when he received the 2024 award, he told his manager "same time next year," not knowing if he could do it, and now Skubal's hope is for a three-peat.
Skubal made 31 starts a year ago and was 13-6 with a 2.21 earned run average. He was 18-4 a year earlier with a 2.39 ERA. He also has a postseason win in both seasons.
What comes next in 2026 is going to be interesting, though. Skubal made just $10,150,000 last year through arbitration, and he's eligible to be a free agent after this season. Both sides have filed figures for arbitration this year, and they aren't even close. Skubal asked for $32 million — Juan Soto holds the arbitration record at $31 million — the Tigers countered with $19 million, which seems laughable. It's the largest gap in arbitration history.
A three-person arbitration panel will decide his figure sometime in the next few weeks, unless the sides come to some sort of an agreement. That seems highly unlikely.
The Tigers are get roasted by national media and former players for their stance with Skubal, who's been nothing but exceptional — both as a pitcher and a teammate — since joining the Tigers in 2020.
Former MVP Josh Donaldson saw the figures and called the Tigers ''a trash organization.''
Former GM Jim Bowden wrote in The Athletic that the Tigers
"You’re telling me that in his final year of arbitration-eligibility, Skubal shouldn’t earn more than Soto did? How do the Tigers rationalize their filing number?" Bowden wrote. "Compare it to David Price’s arbitration figure from 11 years ago — $19.75 million — which is even more than the Tigers’ offer to Skubal?''
Skubal and the Tigers are far apart in arbitration, and Bowden thinks it's a no-brainer that Skubal will win.
"When we look at all active pitchers, the only ones making more than $32 million are Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole and Tyler Glasnow. Skubal has been better than all of them over the last two years — and it’s not even close. It’s hard to understand how the Tigers think they can win a case at $19 million."
The Tigers made a low-ball long-term offer to Skubal, and he and agent Scott Boras immediately laughed it off. It seems very unlikely that the two sides can ever come to an agreement, which is tough on Skubal, because he truly loves playing in Detroit.
Will the Tigers think about trading Skubal this spring? Teams are asking. Tigers Roundtable writer Rogelio Castillo broke it all down.
The Tigers aren't about to let Skubal walk at the end of the year without getting a lot for him. That means a trade seems likely. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, when the Mets checked in with the Tigers, he reported that Detroit asked for five top Mets prospects in return. They quickly said no.
So if Skubal does indeed with a third Cy Young in 2026, the biggest question is this: Which uniform is he wearing in this last start of the season?