High praise for Tarik Skubal shows exactly what Tigers will be missing in 2027

With the Detroit Tigers and left-handed ace Tarik Skubal headed to an arbitration hearing to decide Skubal's salary for the 2026 season, it seems like the writing is on the wall that the two sides are headed for a split.

Perhaps it will be via trade if the Tigers have a poor first half next season, or maybe it will simply be that Skubal signs elsewhere in free agency after next season. But at this point it is hard to conceive of a reality in which the two sides are able to come to terms on a long-term deal.

If that likely reality does come to fruition, the Tigers are going to have to come to terms with life without Skubal. Obviously, losing the two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner is less than ideal, but they may be losing even more than that.

In a recent mailbag article, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic (subscription required) shed some light on how Skubal is such a special competitor in response to a question about which player he has covered has the most edge.

Stavenhagen writes, "Skubal has been the Tigers’ emotional leader every time he’s on the mound. He’s one of the edgiest, most competitive athletes I’ve ever been around...Whatever that “it” factor is, Skubal has it at an elite level."

This does not come as a huge shock. Anyone who wins consecutive Cy Young awards has to be a competitive freak of the highest order so naturally Skubal would fit that bill. But Stavenhagen's answer gives credence to the belief that Skubal is a borderline generational talent rather than just a guy who has had a couple of phenomenal seasons.

Tigers must prepare for reality without Tarik Skubal

While Skubal's regular season numbers have been ungodly the past two seasons––he's pitched to a 2.30 ERA collectively in 387 innings pitched across 2024 and 2025––so have his playoff numbers. Outside of a rough start against the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the 2024 ALDS, he has been just as elite and dominant in the playoffs.

Skubal has a 2.04 ERA with 56 strikeouts and just six walks in six playoff starts so this is a guy who can bring it when all of the chips are down.

Having that tenacious competitor atop the rotation is something that is truly invaluable in baseball. A team can have an ace or a really good starter as the guy who takes the ball in Game 1 of a playoff series, but to have a guy who craves that opportunity and truly wants the ball in those situations is something else entirely.

There are probably only a handful of pitchers in baseball who would do anything to pitch with everything on the line and the Tigers have been lucky enough to have one of those guys.

If the impending split between Skubal and the Tigers does come to pass, they will be without not only a great pitcher but a truly special competitor––and those do not grow on trees.