What history tells us about looming Tigers-Tarik Skubal arbitration battle

The Detroit Tigers and left-handed ace Tarik Skubal are clearly far apart on a contract agreement for the 2026 season. This is not the first time that the Tigers have been involved in an arbitration kerfuffle before, though.

The Skubal case is obviously a unique one, given he is arguably the best pitcher in the game. Detroit filed an arbitration figure at $19 million while Skubal filed at $32 million. There is still time for the two sides to come to an agreement before an arbitration hearing, but it is clear there is quite a bit of daylight between the two sides.

Tigers and Tarik Skubal far apart on a contract, which is not a first for Detroit

It seems like Skubal could be heading towards an arbitration figure that will break records. There have already been trade rumors swirling around Skubal that are only going to grow louder, but it is useful to look at how some recent arbitration situations went down for the Tigers.

Under president of baseball operations Scott Harris, the team has typically opted for a "file-and-trial" approach meaning they will not settle before a hearing. Maybe they will make an exception since Skubal is such a unique case, but the Tigers have been willing to dig their feet in before.

Just a few seasons ago, the Tigers went to arbitration with pitcher Casey Mize over $25,000. That may be a good chunk of change to us mere mortals, but in the world of exorbitant baseball contracts that is nothing – and it shows that the Tigers may not be willing to give an inch more than they have to.

The last time the Tigers went to an arbitration case was in 2019, also with a pitcher (Michael Fulmer). The Tigers filed for $2.8 million while Fulmer filed for $3.4 million, and the arbitrators ultimately sided with the Tigers to award Fulmer $600,000 less than he was hoping for. That pre-dated the Harris era in Detroit, which may speak to more of an organizational philosophy that the team does not want to cede ground in these negotiations.

If the Skubal case does reach arbitration, it will be fascinating to see which side prevails. Skubal may very well make the richest contract for a pitcher in MLB history next offseason, so he and his agent Scott Boras are clearly digging in their heels as well to show that they mean business.