Detroit Tigers ace and two-time Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal is going to be a free agent after the 2026 season, and his agent, Scott Boras, has spoken ahead of the coming MLB season.
Skubal has been the name drawing the most buzz on the trade block due to his pending free agency, which the Tigers likely won’t be able to afford.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets have been the two names most aggressively linked to him, due to their payroll flexibility and a taste for adding quality starting pitching on a regular basis.
However, despite the rumors and talk, Skubal will be starting the season as a Tiger, and unless the season goes sideways, the lefty will likely end the year with the team.
With the Tigers’ inability to offer the mega-deal needed to keep Skubal and Boras’ reputation for seeking the most money for his client, it seems certain that he will not be on the team.
Many are expecting him to be in play for the three biggest teams in the sport — the Dodgers, Mets, and New York Yankees.
Skubal is not a lock to sign with a big market
Boras, though, dumped cold water on that notion, leaving the door open for another team to join the fray if they are willing to pay up for Skubal’s services.
“Even though it was a year ago with Ohtani and we all know that Ohtani is certainly probably the best talent and also brings a market with himself that no one else has, but despite that marketplace, you had multiple teams from not only the West Coast and East coast bidding on this player, but multiple teams that were interested in really going to the market to get the game’s best talent,” Boras said.
“And so limiting it to New York or LA teams is just not accurate, because this is a talent-driven business.
“This is what brings you world championships: having number one starters. We learned from Gerrit Cole what that meant to the Yankees and what allowed them to compete annually for the World Series.
“I fully would imagine that it’s good business to go out and try to get someone that you can’t get because acquiring a player like this, you know, it’s going to be years before you’re going to have an opportunity to acquire anyone like him for some time.”
