Two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers failed to reach a contract agreement, so they will head to arbitration. It’s worth noting that the star pitcher and the team could still exchange salary figures and come to an agreement before Thursday night, though that possibility has already been ruled out.
It was Jeff Passan of ESPN who reported that Skubal requested $32 million, while the Tigers offered only $19 million-setting the largest arbitration gap in league history.
Skubal could break the record of $19.75 million set by David Price in 2015, becoming the highest-paid arbitration-eligible pitcher in MLB history.
Last season, before entering his final year under contract, he earned $10 million, and this dispute is just another chapter in the long saga of contractual drama between the Tigers and Skubal.
The Yankees inquired about Skubal
The New York Yankees were one of the teams that reached out to the Tigers to ask if there might be a possibility of acquiring him, though they got the impression that it would take “half the team” to make it happen, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
It’s a practically impossible deal, and this only opens the door for Tarik Skubal to secure the most lucrative contract in history once he becomes a free agent.
Skubal is coming off an outstanding two-year stretch, with a 31-10 record and a 2.30 ERA in 62 starts.
During that time, he accumulated 469 strikeouts in 387 1/3 innings, demonstrating exceptional dominance on the mound.
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