Scott Harris' response to Tarik Skubal's Tigers free agency plea doesn't sound promising

In the week and some change since the Tigers traded him to the Dodgers, Tarik Skubal hasn't been able to please anybody. Tigers fans aren't buying his emotional goodbye; Dodgers fans are upset that he keeps talking about Detroit. It's an unenviable position to be in, but Skubal isn't exactly doing himself any favors.

Last week, he sent a message to the Tigers' front office, saying he would love to come back to Detroit and hopes they'll be involved in his free agency. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that's not going to happen.

On paper, it's the right thing for him to say. He's had only good things to say about the organization that made him, and he wants to keep as many doors open as he attempts to become the highest-paid pitcher in the game's history. But for Tigers fans, it's rung hollow. In what world would Chris Ilitch's Tigers give him the $400 million he's expected to make?

During an appearance on MLB Network, Scott Harris weighed in on Skubal's pronouncements about a return to the Tigers, and he was characteristically vague.

"I'm not surprised. Our players love playing here. The organization has done a ton to make this a destination and a place that players feel really supported," he said. "I can't really go into [the Tigers' potential involvement in Skubal's free agency], for all the obvious reasons."

Scott Harris was predictably vague when weighing in on Tarik Skubal's hope that Tigers will be involved in his free agency

After the trade deadline, Harris confirmed what Tigers fans already knew. They had approached Skubal about an extension once, but Scott Boras made it clear that his client was going to explore free agency. That's the part that's been really irksome to fans; if Skubal really wanted to stay in Detroit, why wouldn't he come to the table and at least hear the team out?

However, Boras claimed that the team's initial offer back in 2024 was four years and $75 million, which is borderline insulting even without the hindsight of Skubal's great 2025. The argument could be made that the Tigers might've been willing to go higher if Skubal had agree to negotiations, but we all know they wouldn't have been willing to push that much more, certainly not to the point he could get in his free agency.

Skubal also admitted earlier this season that his relationship with the front office had been affected by their arbitration battle. Reports at the trade deadline said Harris would be "unsentimental" about dealing Skubal. Boras is going to wring the likes of the Dodgers, Mets, Phillies, or Yankees for all they're worth, and the Tigers will never be able to match.

So, yeah. A reunion almost certainly isn't happening. A few months from now, after Skubal has signed with one of the aforementioned big-market teams, national media will act like they're dropping a bomb when writing that the Tigers never approached Skubal with an offer. Detroit fans won't pretend we're shocked.

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