Skubal wins salary arbitration with the Detroit Tigers, securing a record $32 million annual salary.

Detroit Tigers’ ace left-hander Tarik Skubal is only one season away from reaching free agency, yet he has received a substantial salary increase this year, ranking him near the top of MLB pitchers’ pay. According to MLB reporter Mark Feinsand, the reigning American League comeback player of the year won his arbitration hearing, with a three-person panel approving his proposed $32 million salary for 2026. The Tigers have not yet officially confirmed this news.

This ruling will not affect Skubal’s team status for the current season. Unless traded, he will remain a Tiger. As the offseason progresses, teams that might have been interested have shifted focus to other options, lowering the chances of a trade. The arbitration decision only impacts his salary: Spotrac data shows his base pay will rank fifth among all MLB pitchers.

This is the highest annual salary ever awarded to a pitcher through salary arbitration and easily breaks the Tigers’ record for arbitration-eligible pitchers, surpassing the $19.75 million deal made with David Price in 2015 to avoid arbitration. Skubal previously avoided arbitration in 2025 by signing a one-year, $10.15 million contract with the Tigers.

Since the 2019 arbitration hearing with Michael Fulmer, the Tigers had not entered arbitration with any player until now. In Skubal’s final year of arbitration eligibility, there was a major disagreement: Skubal requested $32 million, while the team offered $19 million. By rule, the arbitration panel must choose one figure or the other, unlike NHL arbitration which can settle on a middle ground.

As a player with five years of service and arbitration eligibility, Skubal and his agent Scott Boras can compare his case and salary to any MLB player, not just past arbitration cases. This makes the top salaries of players like the Phillies’ Zack Wheeler ($42 million), Rangers’ Jacob deGrom ($38 million), and Yankees’ Gerrit Cole ($36 million) relevant benchmarks.

Since losing arbitration cases in 2000 under then-GM Randy Smith involving outfielder Karim Garcia and left-hander C.J. Nitkowski, the Tigers had not lost any arbitration hearings until now.

After the Tigers signed former Astros left-hander Framber Valdez to a three-year, $115 million contract (averaging $38 million annually) yesterday, Skubal will become the team’s second-highest paid player for the 2026 season.