A new rumor claims the Detroit Tigers invoked the name of a New York Mets pitching legend as evidence for why Tarik Skubal shouldn’t get the huge pay raise he was looking for in arbitration earlier this month.
No one expected Skubal to be the sort of pitcher he has evolved into over the last three seasons. After being a ninth-round pick in 2018, just reaching the big leagues and being productive would have been a good result. However, the Seattle University product has become, arguably, the best pitcher in the game.
In 2024 and 2025, the 29-year-old not only earned All-Star honors, but he also earned the American League Cy Young Award in both seasons. He even won the AL pitching triple crown (Most wins, strikeouts, and best ERA) in 2024.
His excellence over the last two seasons set up a fascinating battle this winter. Skubal and his agent, Scott Boras, understandably wanted to make history for pay bumps in the final year of his rookie contract. Unsurprisingly, the Tigers were looking to get the best rate possible for the top pitcher in the AL because they have a mid-market payroll.
Tigers used deGrom as proof that Skubal shouldn’t get historic raise
In the end, arbitrators ruled in favor of Skubal and declared that he deserved a record-shattering $32 million salary in 2026. Detroit did its best to get him closer to the number they were reportedly aiming for, which was $19 million, and according to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, they invoked the name of NY Mets great Jacob deGrom as evidence for the number they felt Skubal should get this season.
The Athletic reporter told the Foul Territory podcast recently that the club wanted their pitcher to get a raise similar to the $9.6 million deGrom got after the 2018 season. It pushed his overall salary to $17 million for 2019 and came after winning the National League Cy Young and making his second trip to the All-Star game.
Skubal’s raise would have been just under $9 million to bring his total for the upcoming season to $19 million. So it would have been a lower raise, but a higher annual number than deGrom received. However, arbitrators and Rosenthal both felt Skubal is a better pitcher now than the NY Mets legend was for his team at that point.
Oddly enough, Skubal has been linked to the Mets in various trade and free agent rumors ahead of this season.
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