The Tigers lost to Tarik Skubal but won the week.
In a historic arbitration case with $13 million in the balance, an independent panel of arbiters ruled in favor of Skubal's 32 million request over the Tigers' $19 million offer to the two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner, per ESPN.
Skubal's salary this season tops Juan Soto's $31 million in 2024 as the highest ever for an arbitration-eligible player.
The Tigers are unlikely to match the market that awaits Skubal in free agency next winter, but they're trying to win while he's here. Skubal will form one of the best one-two pitching punches in baseball this season with Framber Valdez, the top arm in this year's free agent class who signed a three-year, $115 million deal with the Tigers on Wednesday.
It's no surprise that Skubal won the case. Given his MLB service time and accomplishments, he and his agent Scott Boras were able to make salary comparisons to all pitchers across the sport, not just those who were arbitration-eligible in the past. Boras surely pointed to the likes of Zach Wheeler ($42 million per year) and Gerrit Cole ($36 million) to argue that Skubal is worth at least $32 million per year.
Scott Harris and the Tigers likely argued that a nearly $9 million raise was a sufficient reward for a pitcher in arbitration and much more reflective of a system where the previous record raise was $9.6 million, awarded to Jacob DeGrom in 2019 after he won the first of back-to-back Cy Young awards with a 1.70 ERA and 9.4 WAR. Skubal had a 2.21 ERA and 6.5 WAR last season.
But Boras and Skubal seemed intent on blowing the system up. And now they have, with Skubal landing a $21.85 million raise.
And now Skubal and Valdez will lead the Tigers into the 2026 season, their eyes on a World Series title.