Tigers get most reliable Tarik Skubal assurance yet as Jeff Passan weighs in

Even without actual baseball happening, the offseason is weirdly exhausting. It's mainly a lot of waiting around, but we keep ourselves occupied with rumors that originate anywhere from baseball's most trusted insiders to a random guy on Twitter saying "[insert team name] should go after [insert player name], wouldn't that be cool?"

All of the rumors surrounding Tarik Skubal so far this offseason have mostly stemmed from the latter, after Scott Harris refused to weigh in on whether or not the Tigers would be open to trading Skubal before 2026. He didn't say yes, but all he needed to do to get the rumor mill churning was not say no. Insiders started to debate whether or not it would be a smart move for the Tigers to trade him, and fans threw out (mostly terrible) trade proposals.

But Harris and the Tigers' front office are about as tight-lipped as they come. When Harris said that he just wasn't going to comment on the status of an active player, he really meant it, and it wasn't delivered as a wink-nod to other front offices to throw their entire farm systems at him in exchange for Skubal.

The Tigers are expected to maintain their contender status next season. Why trade your best pitcher now?

Jeff Passan, arguably the most trustworthy baseball insider there is, will hopefully quiet some of the chatter. He wrote for ESPN, "Everyone wants Skubal, the soon-to-be two-time American League Cy Young winner, but as of now, the industry expects Detroit to hold onto him, even with his free agency approaching after the 2026 season."

Jeff Passan reports "industry expectation" is that Tigers keep Tarik Skubal in 2026

The other exhausting part about the offseason is that there's always conflicting information. Buster Olney and Jesse Rogers, also of ESPN, sort of contradicted Passan's reporting, with Olney writing, "other teams believe the Tigers will seriously consider moving him if they can glean what they want in a trade" and naming the Mariners, Mets, and Red Sox as potential suitors.

But anything along the lines of "[insert team name] are expected to entertain offers for [insert player name]" is a common offseason refrain that oftentimes ends up meaning nothing and, to with all due respect to Olney and Rogers, there's a reason why fans only trust breaking news when it's coming from Passan.

For now, Tigers fans should be able to relax a little. Even if he's not traded this offseason, there's still the trade deadline and then the 2026-2027 offseason to worry about, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.