Tigers Make Tarik Skubal Decision After Yankees News

On Thursday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the New York Yankees had checked in on Skubal but quickly realized the asking price was astronomical.

According to Heyman, New York got the impression it would take “half the team” to pry the Tigers’ superstar away.

That revelation effectively shut down trade talks, but it underscored how highly Detroit values its frontline starter.

At the same time, the Tigers made news on the contractual front. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that no settlement was reached in Skubal’s salary arbitration negotiations.

The two sides could still come to terms before an arbitration hearing later this month, but as of now, they are scheduled to go through the process.

In Skubal’s case, this process was avoided in past years, but now Detroit appears to have made the decision to let it play out under his final year of team control.

Detroit’s decision to head toward an arbitration hearing rather than simply paying Skubal could be telling.

It may signal the organization’s reluctance to commit long-term money to their ace, despite his back-to-back Cy Young campaigns. For a pitcher of Skubal’s caliber, teams often prefer to avoid hearings to maintain goodwill and set the stage for an extension.

By choosing this route, the Tigers may be further indicating the unlikelihood of extending him beyond team control.

That dynamic could reopen the door for the Yankees. While New York balked at the initial asking price, Detroit’s stance suggests they are at least willing to entertain the idea of moving Skubal if the right package comes along.

For the Yankees, who continue to search for rotation stability, revisiting the possibility of acquiring Skubal later in the offseason or at the trade deadline remains very much in play.

For now, the Tigers’ ace remains in Detroit, but the combination of arbitration uncertainty and trade chatter ensures his future will remain one of the most closely watched storylines of the 2026 MLB season.