Ahead of the MLB Winter Meetings, the chatter was that the Detroit Tigers would be listening to offers for potential Mets target Tarik Skubal, the back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner and a free agent to be after the 2026 season.
On Monday, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris gave a clear indication that there will indeed be “listening” and “exploring” when it came to the left-hander (and any player in the organization), but that might be as far as it goes.
“I’ve been pretty clear since I’ve been here,” Harris said in Orlando. “I don’t believe in untouchables at any level. So anyone in our organization, at any level. It’s not a commentary on Tarik specifically. Sort of a blanket team-building approach. I think I can’t do my job without listening.
“I can’t do my job without exploring anything that may or may not have legs. Some are maybe very likely moves, and some are going to be extremely unlikely. But you can’t actually fully vet those opportunities unless you are willing to listen. So that’s how we’re doing it.”
Harris, speaking on MLB Network, added later, “My job is to make this organization better. I need to find ways to make this organization better, which means that I need to listen to every opportunity.”
On the eve of the meetings, ESPN’s Buster Olney reported Detroit would “continue to be engaged” with teams interested in acquiring the ace, and that the asking price would be “enormous.”
Enormous because the talent is so immense. Over his last two seasons, he’s posted a 2.30 ERA (2.47 FIP) and 0.906 WHIP with 469 strikeouts and 68 walks in 387.1 innings over 62 starts.
If acquired, the Mets would face another hurdle in working on keeping the 29-year-old around for the long term: Skubal is represented by Scott Boras.
When the Tigers attempted to extend Skubal, it was reportedly not just a non-competitive offer, but one that was relatively insulting. Safe to say that while that isn’t much of an indication of the starter’s asking price, it is something the Mets would certainly be able to avoid.
In the meantime, Skubal is relatively inexpensive, expected to make roughly $18 million for his final season of arbitration.
SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino reported earlier this offseason that the Tigers have expressed interest in Brett Baty in the past.
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