Do Tigers have no choice but to trade ace Tarik Skubal?

The Detroit Tigers backed themselves into a corner with superstar pitcher Tarik Skubal.

They got on his wrong side by going to arbitration, and with a disappointing start to the season, teams will be calling to acquire him via trade before the Aug. 3 deadline.

All things considered, the Tigers might have no choice but to comply in order to get something in return. As Peter Appel of Just Baseball Media noted, Skubal could be looking at a massive payday on the open market, and the Tigers simply won't be able to compete for his services.

Tarik Skubal's payday will drive him away from Detroit

Appel compared him to Gerrit Cole's mammoth deal with the New York Yankees six years ago.

“So my comp is Gerrit Cole,” Appel said. “When he signed with the Yankees for nine years, $324 million, but it was back in 2020. This was the best pitcher in baseball at the time, [or] the second-best pitcher in baseball at the time. Right in the same line as Skubal, but this is also six years later.”

Skubal is out with a shoulder injury, but he's expected to be back at some point in June. Even if he's not 100 percent healthy and back to his usual level, the two-time AL Cy Young winner would still be a top-3 hurler.

As such, and considering inflation, he would be looking at an even bigger contract than Cole's.

“So we can kind of wrap our brains around nine [years] for $324 million–and then we can start adding years,” he added. “It would not be surprising at all if Tarik Skubal gets a 10-year, $400 million contract this offseason.” 

The Tigers still have enough time to turn things around this season, but they may simply not have the talent.

Even if they do, they've already missed a potential opportunity to extend their superstar, and Skubal can probably fetch a bigger payday elsewhere on the open market.

With this steep market projection, the Tigers will probably have to make a decision about their best player pretty soon.