Tigers' Harris hopes to keep Skubal: 'I love watching him pitch'

Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris is hopeful the team can find common ground on a contract that keeps superstar left-hander Tarik Skubal with the team for the foreseeable future.

"I'd say, I'm watching him pitch, too, and I love watching him pitch," Harris told 97.1 The Ticket on Wednesday. "And I'm really proud that he's a Tiger right now."

Skubal, the reigning American League Cy Young winner is putting together another spectacular campaign as he looks to capture the award for a second consecutive year.

The 28-year-old owns a 6-2 record with a sparkling 2.16 ERA, 105 strikeouts, and just seven walks in 83 1/3 innings (13 starts) this season.

Skubal is arbitration-eligible for one more season before he's scheduled to hit free agency after the 2026 campaign.

Harris acknowledges keeping Skubal from testing free agency won't be a completely straightforward process.

"Sometimes it sounds a lot easier to just lock him up and sign extensions and just get it done because you feel like it," Harris said. "It's a lot harder than that."

Skubal is represented by super agent Scott Boras, who's historically preferred having his clients test the open market in free agency.

The southpaw is a strong candidate to surpass Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto's $325-million contract for the biggest deal for a pitcher in MLB history.