Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal Makes History in Record Arbitration Case

Two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal just made history in his landmark arbitration case with the Detroit Tigers. The arbitrator ruled in favor of Skubal on Thursday for his record-setting $32 million salary over the Tigers’ $19 million offer. That not only breaks the record set by Juan Soto for an arbitration salary by one million but also bests the $19.9 million record arbitration raise for an award by the panel. The decision comes one day after they added the top free agent on the market, Framber Valdez, on a three-year, $115 million deal. Now, it’s not clear what Skubal’s future in Detroit is, though the Tigers have reportedly not entertained plans to trade Skubal before he enters free agency after this season.

However, it sets real limitations on what Detroit can do on the books. They can absorb the $32 million hit, but that’s typically a number that comes with longer term extensions, not a one-year arbitration award. That affects their ability to add depth elsewhere and forces the organization to confront Skubal’s future sooner rather than later. They currently have a stellar rotation with Valdez and Skubal atop it as one of the strongest lefty duos in the AL. But the addition of Valdez now makes it possible to consider a future without Skubal.

Here is the full story from Tigers Roundtable writer Rogelio Castillo on the landmark ruling and how it reshapes the immediate and future vision for Detroit.

Now, Detroit can take the opportunity of a real window with Skubal and Valdez, but it’s not clear how long that will stay open, and it’s muddied by the lack of an extension. It’s likely those talks will resume, but this ruling has certainly reshaped things as a baseline of $32 million per season is now set.