With a powerful 60-40 document, the Detroit Tigers are having fun with one among their greatest latest seasons.
Due to this, they’re in first place within the American League Central Division with a snug lead over second place (12 video games).
The offense, led by names resembling Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter and Gleyber Torres, has responded
Nevertheless, the staff’s nice determine is undoubtedly the pitcher Tarik Skubal, who has confirmed to be one of many greatest stars in baseball at the moment.
Who’s Tarik Skubal?
The 28-year-old left-hander not solely gained the American League Cy Younger Award in 2024, but in addition achieved the coveted pitching Triple Crown (main the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts).
Moreover, in 2025, he has continued to shine with an ERA of 2.23, a WHIP of 0.826 and a price of 11.4 strikeouts per 9 innings.
It’s because of this consistency that they’ve attracted the curiosity of essentially the most highly effective organizations in Main League Baseball.
The place will Skubal play subsequent season?
In line with journalist Buster Olney, an intense bidding warfare is anticipated between the Yankees, Dodgers and Mets for Skubal‘s providers as soon as he turns into a free agent after the 2026 season.
Groups just like the Dodgers, who’ve already invested greater than $1.3 billion just lately in names like Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell, appear prepared to open the checkbook once more.
In the meantime, the Yankees see Skubal as a really perfect complement to Max Fried, whereas the Mets are desperately in search of a determine of that caliber to bolster their rotation.
Skubal has publicly praised the Dodgers for his or her organizational construction and talent to draw expertise. As well as, his injury-free observe document makes him much more enticing in comparison with different elite pitchers who’ve handled bodily issues.
Skubal’s million-dollar contract
The left-handed pitcher is represented by agent Scott Boras, and will attain a contract of as much as $400 million, which might make him the highest-paid pitcher in MLB historical past.
Regardless of Skubal‘s stellar efficiency and the staff’s good kind, rumors level to an virtually sure departure. In line with Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, the pitcher is “nearly assured” to go away the franchise after 2026.
Though the Tigers have tried to increase his contract, efforts to date haven’t been sufficient to retain him long-term, so it appears probably that we’ll see the Tigers’ breakout pitcher in a special uniform very quickly.
