The Detroit Tigers have been one of the surprise teams in baseball the last two years. A big part of that is due to Tigers ace Tarik Skubal .In the 2024 season they were 10 games out of the playoffs on August 11, 2024, with a less than 1 percent chance to make the playoffs. The Tigers ended up making the playoffs and made it into the Divisional round, which they lost in five games to the Guardians. In the 2025 season, the Tigers had a massive collapse, giving up a 10-game division lead down the stretch. They still ended up making the playoffs but lost to the Seattle Mariners in five games.
Skubal is one of the best pitchers in baseball right now, as he has won the last two AL Cy Young awards, Skubal is up for a new contract after the 2026 season. Skubal is represented by Scott Boras who is known for getting every penny he can for his players. The Tigers now have a decision to make about what they should do with Skubal and that falls on the General Manager Scott Harris. Ben Copus ’28, a South student and Tigers fan, talked about why the Tigers have yet to sign Skubal.
“Chris Illich is a little bit cheap, so their whole organization’s a little bit cheap. So I wouldn’t be surprised if we get rid of him,” Copus said.
The Tigers are now in a difficult decision with Skubal because they didn’t sign him to a contract and also didn’t trade him during the offseason. They also decided to go all in this year with the signings of Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez. This will make it more difficult for Tigers fans to understand if they trade Skubal now at the deadline. Will Bishop ’26 talked about the position the Tigers are in with Skubal.
“I feel like the Tigers are kind of in no man’s land where they’re just going to pretty much let him go, unless they trade him at the trade deadline, which I think is pretty dumb, because they’re not going to get any assets for him,” Bishop said.
The Tigers are in a position similar to what the Angels did with Ohtani, letting him walk away without getting anything back for him. Chris Booth, a history teacher at South and an avid Tigers fan, talked what the Tigers should get back for Skubal.
“I want two good players. I want a good pitcher and a good position player. Now I don’t want any prospects,” Booth said.
