Remember the noncompetitive offer to Tarik Skubal?
Four years.
Less than $100 million.
One year ago, that’s what the Detroit Tigers offered Skubal after the 2024 season in hopes of signing him to a contract extension, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation granted anonymity because the offer is not public. The proposal would have covered his final two years of arbitration and first two years of free agency, making him a first-time free agent after the 2028 season.
Skubal rejected it.
The noncompetitive offer resurfaced Thursday, Oct. 16, when New York Post columnist Jon Heyman reported Skubal and the Tigers are $250 million apart in negotiations. The estimation from Heyman was based on the Tigers’ offer after the 2024 season and the projection that Skubal will command at least $400 million in free agency following the 2026 season.
The gap might be closer to $300 million.
Skubal — represented by agent Scott Boras — is set to become a free agent in November 2026.
The Tigers’ offer would have been a franchise record for a pitcher extension before free agency, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The current record is held by right-hander Justin Verlander, who signed a five-year, $80 million extension in February 2010. Both Verlander’s extension and Skubal’s offer came when the pitchers were at four years of MLB service time, though nearly 15 years apart.
Players can’t reach free agency until six years.
In a similar case, the Boston Red Sox traded for left-hander Garrett Crochet in December 2024 after four years of MLB service time, then extended him in April 2025. Had the extension not happened, Crochet would’ve become a free agent after the 2026 season — just like Skubal.
The Crochet extension?
Six years, $170 million.
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One month after the Tigers’ noncompetitive offer, Skubal won the 2024 American League Cy Young Award with a 2.39 ERA over 192 innings in 31 starts. One year later, he is the favorite to repeat — something an AL pitcher hasn’t accomplished since Pedro Martínez in 1999-2000.
In 2025, Skubal posted an AL-leading 2.21 ERA across 195⅓ innings in 31 starts.
Skubal turns 29 in late November.
Within the past month, the three people associated with the Tigers — Skubal, president of baseball operations Scott Harris and owner Christopher Ilitch — have been asked Skubal’s status.
Here’s what everyone said.
Ilitch on Oct. 2, when asked if he is prioritizing a Skubal contract extension: “We’re in 2025 right now. We’re just going to focus on the playoffs and really just focus on the game in front of us.”
Skubal on Oct. 10, when asked if he plans to meet with the Tigers’ front office to discuss his future: “My job is to play. That’s not my job — to do anything other than play. Those questions should be asked toward the front office and the people that make those decisions, but my job is to go out there and play.”
Harris on Oct. 13, when asked if he could trade Skubal before he reaches free agency after the 2026 season: “I can’t comment on our players being traded. I can’t comment on free agents. I can’t comment on other teams’ players. I’m going to respond by just not actually commenting on it.”
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers, Tarik Skubal far apart after 2024 extension offer
