Tarik Skubal is going to keep hanging over the Tigers all offseason, but ESPN’s latest free-agent update makes the path for Detroit look even thinner.
Kiley McDaniel listed the Tigers among seven teams expected to be in the Skubal sweepstakes, but the detail that stands out is the one Detroit fans won’t love: the Tigers are waiting for a discount that may never arrive. McDaniel said the usual heavy hitters are leading the chase - the Dodgers and Mets - while other clubs are still sorting things out and Detroit remains in the picture, just not at the price Skubal is likely to command.
That price is the problem. The source points to a long-term deal in the neighborhood of $350 million, and the idea that Skubal would suddenly soften his ask for the Tigers is being treated as fantasy. Detroit already tried to get him at a lower number last offseason, and his value has only climbed since then.
For the Tigers, that makes this look like a dead end. The article argues Scott Harris should move on and redirect the money elsewhere, because Skubal is not going to hand Detroit a bargain just because of the relationship between the sides.
The bigger issue is that Detroit never really looked like a serious bidder anyway. The piece says anyone familiar with Chris Ilitch and the Tigers understood they were unlikely to go big for a premier free agent like Skubal. They didn’t get a deal done last offseason, which led to his being dealt at the deadline, and there’s little reason to expect the Tigers to jump into a bidding war for a pitcher who could cost $300 million or more.
Meanwhile, the field keeps getting crowded. The Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees were already seen as the favorites because of their spending power, and the article says the Angels, Padres, and White Sox are now also in the mix. That only makes Detroit’s chances look smaller.
The conclusion is straightforward: the Tigers would be better off spending their money on a veteran bat or two and adding another top-end starter to the rotation. There are smarter ways to use those millions than chasing an ace who, according to the article, already showed he didn’t want to be in Detroit.
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