The date is set.
The Detroit Tigers and left-hander Tarik Skubal are scheduled Wednesday, Feb. 4, for their salary arbitration hearing in a precedent-setting showdown, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The hearing will take place in Arizona.
A panel of three arbitrators will determine whether Skubal makes $32 million or $19 million in the 2026 season, with no compromise in between.
Skubal is represented by agent Scott Boras; the Tigers are led by president of baseball operations Scott Harris. The two sides aren’t expected to come to an agreement before Wednesday’s hearing.
The current record for the largest one-year arbitration contract belongs to outfielder Juan Soto, who agreed to $31 million with the New York Yankees for the 2024 season. Meanwhile, the record for the highest-paid arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to left-hander David Price, who agreed to $19.75 million with the Tigers for the 2015 season.
Skubal will break both arbitration records if he wins, but he won’t break any records if he loses.
In 2025, Skubal – the reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young winner – registered a 2.21 ERA with 33 walks (4.4% walk rate) and 241 strikeouts (32.2% strikeout rate) across 195⅓ innings in 31 starts. He is set to become a free agent after the 2026 season.
This will be the first arbitration hearing for the Tigers since right-hander Michael Fulmer in 2019.
This story will be updated.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Date set for Tarik Skubal vs Detroit Tigers salary arbitration hearing
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
