Tarik Skubal, the reigning two-time Cy Young winner and arguably the best pitcher in baseball, is about to reset the entire market for pitchers. The dude is a free agent after the 2026 season, and let me tell you, neither he nor the Tigers showed much interest in an extension during the past two offseasons. That means Skubal is staring down a payday that could hit $350 million or more, setting new highs for total dollar value and average annual salary for any pitcher, ever.
The Money Tree Is About To Grow Taller
Right now, if you want to see how much it's going to cost to sign Skubal, you just gotta look at the very top of baseball's pitcher salary list. While no pitcher cracks the top ten highest total MLB contracts overall, Yoshinobu Yamamoto's deal with the Dodgers is the current high-water mark for pitchers. He pulled in a monstrous $325 million over 12 seasons, from 2024 through 2035, plus the Dodgers dropped another $50 million posting fee to NPB. That's a huge commitment! But Skubal is coming for that record, no doubt. Yamamoto's $325 million is one of only two pitcher contracts ever to top $250 million, and one of just three to go over $218 million. The most recent of those big deals was Yamamoto's, and even his massive total is spread thin enough that his average annual value (AAV) ranks way down at 51st overall in MLB and 15th among pitchers. Skubal is expected to command a contract that shatters these numbers. Gerrit Cole got $324 million over 9 years, Max Scherzer and Corbin Burnes both hit $210 million, and Clayton Kershaw even pulled $215 million back in the day. Tarik Skubal is about to walk right past all those guys.Record-Breaking AAV Is On The Table
It's not just total dollars; Skubal is going to demand an average annual salary that blows minds. We're talking about an AAV that will be the highest any pitcher has ever seen. Shohei Ohtani's AAV is sitting pretty at $46,081,476 from 2024-2033, and while Ohtani is clearly "much, much more than a pitcher," his AAV shows the kind of stratosphere Skubal is aiming for on the pitching side alone. Jacob deGrom's $37.0 million AAV on his 5-year deal with the Rangers and Gerrit Cole's $36.0 million over 9 years were insane at the time. Skubal, as a two-time Cy Young winner, is going to demand more than any of them. So, who's got the cash and the guts to sign him? Every single team that wants to contend needs an ace, and Skubal is the guy. Watching where he lands and what numbers he puts up is going to be the most exciting part of this entire situation as we head into the second half of the 2026 season. It's gonna be wild to see which franchise is willing to open the vault for the best pitcher in the game.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.