Report: Skubal rejected Tigers' offer of less than $100M last year

The Detroit Tigers and Tarik Skubal seem to be far apart in extension talks - and it appears that's been the case for quite a while.

Last offseason, Skubal - who's entering his final year of arbitration before free agency - rejected a four-year extension offer from the Tigers that was worth less than $100 million, sources told Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press this week.

While the exact dollar value of that rejected offer isn't known, the total would have surpassed the $80-million extension Detroit gave to Justin Verlander in 2010, Petzold reports.

The reigning AL Cy Young winner is represented by Scott Boras. It's not clear whether he's had any substantial contract talks with the Tigers since last winter. Earlier this week, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the gap between Skubal's camp and the Tigers is around $250 million; Petzold reports that it could be closer to $300 million.

Should Skubal reach free agency, the 28-year-old would become the prize of the 2026-27 offseason and could command a record contract from any potential suitor. To that end, the Tigers are expected to at least listen to offers for their ace this offseason, sources told Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.

Skubal is likely to win his second consecutive AL Cy Young Award in November after posting an AL-best 2.21 ERA, 2.45 FIP, and 0.89 WHIP along with 241 strikeouts and one shutout in 2025. He followed up that remarkable regular season with a record-setting playoff run, tallying 36 strikeouts and a 1.74 ERA over three postseason starts.

The Tigers have made the playoffs in each of the last two seasons following a nine-year rebuild. Although the team was a big spender in the early 2010s, Detroit's 2025 Opening Day payroll ranked 18th out of 30 teams, per Cot's Contracts.