Tigers rumors: ESPN insider reveals Tarik Skubal free agency scenario more in play after surgery

After Detroit Tigers star pitcher Tarik Skubal underwent surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow, the 29-year-old will be absent for multiple weeks in the hopes of returning to his effective play. With the Tigers now dealing with Skubal’s injury, this ESPN insider has gathered what free agency with the star would be like and what a contract could look like.

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN would conjure up “way-too-early” free agency predictions, with one of them being on Skubal, focusing on what his market could look like after a third procedure on his elbow. Speaking to executives, scouts, and agents about the natter, he would get some interesting numbers back.

“The morning the latest surgery was announced, I was texting those same people as part of an industry straw poll on what Skubal’s contract would be. Seven of them got back to me before the news broke. The average of those projections was 7.7 years for $357 million, or just over $46 million per year,” McDaniel wrote.

“Among pitchers, that would beat Max Scherzer’s average annual value record of $43.3 million and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s guaranteed money mark of $325 million (over 12 years),” McDaniel continued.

A prediction on Tigers’ Tarik Skubal

A likely outcome for Skubal’s free agency market is that the numbers might not be too high “due to the renewed durability questions after this surgery.” McDaniel would find a consensus for how some in the baseball world will think Skubal will end up in the market, which is returning to Detroit on a “shorter-term deal.”

“It’s impossible to predict exactly how he’ll appear on the mound after returning, what his market will look like at that point, and whether the MLB labor situation will affect his negotiations. Sources agreed, though, that the chances that Skubal will go back to the Detroit Tigers on a shorter-term deal with opt-outs is much higher than it was before this injury,” McDaniel wrote.

Before the injury, Skubal had recorded a 2.70 ERA to go along with 45 strikeouts and a 3-2 record, as there is no denying that when he is healthy, he’s one of the best in the game.

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