Another Jeff Passan update just put pressure on Tigers to pay up for Tarik Skubal

It seems as if almost every day, a new wrinkle is added to the situation between Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers. Based on some misleading reports, one would believe that animosity might be growing between the two sides.

After all, Skubal only has one legitimate challenger for the title of best pitcher in baseball, and as much as the young core the Tigers have built is exciting, this team doesn't make the playoffs the last two seasons without the game's most dominant southpaw anchoring the rotation.

But as we hear about more and more disconcerting updates in the standoff, it is important to consider the source. Skubal's agent, Scott Boras, is using every tactic he has to extract the most money possible for his client, including leveraging his relationships with certain insiders to spin a narrative.

But when it comes down to it, there can be more than one truth. Skubal could want a record-breaking contract, something he absolutely deserves, but as ESPN's Jeff Passan reports, he also loves pitching in Detroit.

Tarik Skubal's love of Detroit should force the Tigers' hand to pay him

Speaking with Rich Eisen, Passan said, “Not only would the Tigers like to re-sign Tarik Skubal, Tarik Skubal would like to stay in Detroit." Sounds like this should be easy then.

Passan would go on to say how much Skubal enjoys playing for AJ Hinch and how he credits Detroit's pitching coaches with helping him ascend to his rarified perch atop the league. It seems like he doesn't want to leave that, but he also wants to be paid what he's worth.

That means exceeding the record-breaking $325 million contract that Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Exceeding it by how much is the question, but by the looks of things Skubal isn't going to be unreasonable. If he truly loves the Tigers organization, he'll want to leave them in a position to compete, meaning not completely hamstringing them financially.

At the same time, Yamamoto getting such a lavish deal before throwing a single pitch in MLB should draw Skubal's ire as he's on his way to a second consecutive Cy Young award.

Whether or not the Tigers truly believe that they can afford such an exorbitant contract is the real question, but if we look at fan engagement with the team since they returned to contention, it's easy to see revenues increasing if the team continues to win.

As Passan points out, there are psychological costs associated with this stalemate as well. Even if the Tigers were to get an absolute haul by trading Skubal, what would it cost as far as the club's standing amongst the fans? Even more important, what would that cost be to the other players in Detroit's locker room?

After all, trading Skubal would mean waving the white flag. The team could try and spin it as setting themselves up for a longer window of contention, but at a certain point, playoff appearances are meaningless if you have little actual shot to do damage once you get there.

Skubal being around for the long haul is the Tigers' best path toward building a dynasty. They can work in all the promising youngsters around him, like Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark — among many others that they want — but Skubal is the foundation that would make them a World Series contender.

And in his heart, it seems he wants to stay in Detroit. If the Tigers don't re-sign him — and even worse, if they trade him away this winter — they are painting themselves as the bad guys in this scenario. With that, the pressure is mounting for Chris Ilitch and Scott Harris to simply pay the man what he's worth. It's that simple.