José Ramírez's defense of Guardians extension definitely makes Tarik Skubal look bad

The arbitration deadline fell less than a week ago, but in Tigers land, it may as well have been a lifetime.

There was always a small possibility that the Tigers and Tarik Skubal would be unable to reach an agreement on a contract for 2026, but no one thought the gap would be $13 million wide. The Tigers may have lowballed, but Skubal may be asking for too much; it's an argument that's already dividing fans, and neither side will end up looking totally innocent when this is all over.

The "Skubal is greedy" crowd found an unlikely ally in a division rival this weekend. Even Skubal truthers might have to admit that it doesn't reflect well on Skubal's side of the argument.

José Ramírez, when reflecting on his five-year, $124 million extension with Cleveland, said, "I knew it wasn't fully reflective of my market value, and plenty of people made sure to point that out. But I'm a veteran, I understand how the game works. Cleveland is a small market team, and they simply can’t pay me what I could command on the open market. [...] There were real trade discussions and offers from other teams willing to extend me at my full asking price, but my heart was set on staying in Cleveland. [...] I owe this city a lot."

Tarik Skubal should probably take a page out of José Ramírez's playbook during Tigers arbitration battle

A cynical read of Skubal's current situation has inevitably cast a very doubtful eye toward his publicity spree in Detroit in late December. He wanted to get out into the community and endear himself even further to fans, and then make the front office look like the bad guy in the ever-growing eventuality that they lose him either to a trade or to free agency.

If Skubal really loved Detroit as much as he has professed to — and he has been profuse about it, both in person and on social media — wouldn't he follow Ramírez's example? Or perhaps even be inclined to move a little further away from his reportedly staunch $32 million position?

Ramírez, a future Hall of Famer, got a comparable AAV to Javier Báez and far less money than noted baseball hater Anthony Rendon because Ramírez loves Cleveland, he's loyal to the team that made him, and he wants to win it all with them.

The Tigers obviously have the ability to spend more and just won't (trust us, you won't find many front office or ownership stans here) and Skubal is within his right to ask to be paid what he thinks he's worth. But if Ramírez can zoom out and see the bigger picture — the Guardians are a small-market team that could only ever pay him so much but deeply value his contributions to the organization — Skubal can, too.

At the very least, all of Skubal's posturing about loving Detroit and loving the Tigers organization falls even flatter now in contrast to Ramírez's real, tangible action.