Tigers News: Former pitcher lands with Cubs, Tarik Skubal departure concerns grow

The Tigers wished a not-so-fond farewell to pitcher Spencer Turnbull at the end of 2023, when he was non-tendered by the team and became a free agent. He didn't go without a fight, and quibbled with the front office over his service time, despite pitching only 137 2/3 collective innings in his last four seasons in Detroit (he was injured and didn't pitch at all in 2022). The Tigers acquiesced and gave him a full year of service time, then sent him on his way.

Things seemed to work out nicely for him at first, after he signed with the Phillies one a one-year deal, but he went onto the IL with a lat strain on June 27 and didn't pitch again that year.

He remained a free agent until May 5 of this year, when he signed another major league deal with the Blue Jays. He was optioned to the minors to start, having missed so much time at the beginning of the season, but was DFA'd on June 25 and released two days later after logging just two starts for a 7.11 ERA over 6 1/3 innings.

On Friday, Jon Heyman reported that Turnbull was signing with the Cubs. It's a minor league deal, and it's a bit unclear why arguably the best team in the National League is taking a chance on a guy who can't produce or stay healthy.

Spencer Turnbull signs with Cubs; Tarik Skubal "all but guaranteed" to leave Tigers in free agency

The Tigers' No. 1 priority in 2026 should be figuring out how to extend or re-sign Tarik Skubal, but it's already clear that he might be way too expensive for them by the time the year is over. Estimates for a free agent contract or extension fall somewhere in the 10-year, $400 million range, and that would be a lot even for the richest teams in baseball, let alone the notoriously thrifty Tigers.

Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press said that it was "all but guaranteed" Skubal leaves the Tigers in free agency at the end of next season, which is a knife to the gut for Tigers fans.

During the All-Star break, Dodgers catcher Will Smith made it clear that he would like to work with Skubal as a member of the Dodgers, and Yankees ace Max Fried was lending him advice on his upcoming free agency. The Dodgers and Yankees, along with the Mets and maybe Phillies, are the kinds of teams that would be willing to throw $400 million at Skubal, but it might be out of the realm of possibility for the Tigers.