In a league with no salary cap or floor, every team should have equal opportunities to build a contender. However, that’s just not how Major League Baseball works.
The Detroit Tigers are 60-41, hold a double-digit lead in the AL Central, have six different players on their roster who made the All-Star Game, and own the best record in all of baseball. They built this roster the “right way” by drafting well, developing prospects who fizzled out on other teams, and filling holes with smart, mid-level free agent signings.
Detroit should be the talk of baseball for all the right reasons. But the current online discussions around the Tigers are centered on which of the New York Mets, New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers Cy Young pitcher Tarik Skubal will sign with after the 2026 season.
Not only is baseball media in such a bad spot that big names are talking about where a player will sign after next season, but why in the world are the Tigers not the main team to re-sign their ace?
Tarik Skubal wasn’t always some sure thing. A ninth-round pick out of Seattle University in 2018, Skubal flew through the Detroit minor league system, making his debut during the shortened 2020 season. In his first two seasons, he had a 5.63 ERA and a 4.34 ERA—nothing that really screamed “best pitcher in the sport” just four years later.
However, Detroit continued to develop Skubal, and that decision is paying off beautifully now as he leads the team into what they hope will be a deep playoff run this postseason.
This type of player should be in Detroit for the rest of his career. He’s beloved by this organization, but Detroit just can’t compete with the big markets. And with Skubal being a client of Scott Boras, nobody really expects him to sign a team-friendly deal.
The problem is, there’s no real fix to this issue. The league desperately wants to implement a salary cap to help the poor billionaire owners who are unwilling to open up their checkbooks for big-time superstars. But would that actually change anything?
Take a team like Cleveland. They’re lucky. José Ramírez turned down an extra $150 million to stay in town. But any other star player they’ve had, they’ve needed to trade away just to get something in return before inevitably losing them in free agency. Would a salary cap even force Cleveland to pay a Francisco Lindor, or would they still ship him off to a larger market?
Detroit isn’t nearly as bad as Cleveland, as they’re far more willing to pay their guys. But will Chris Ilitch be willing to drop over $400 million on an asset as risky as a starting pitcher?
I’m not sure what MLB can do, but they need to find a way to incentivize small markets to keep their talent. But is that even what they want?
Do marketing teams want Skubal in New York or Detroit? I know what answer Commissioner Rob Manfred has, but it’s not the one most normal people would like to see.
So, will baseball try to address the biggest issue for its fans? Probably not. But it’s awful to see an amazing season in Detroit being minimized to a free agency decision in an upcoming season.
