Detroit Tigers new Saiyan pitcher Tarik Skubal, who reached a one-year, $10.15 million contract with the Tigers in early January to avoid salary arbitration, did not respond positively when asked in an interview a few days ago whether he would sign an early contract extension with the team, but expressed his position that he wants to play in Detroit.

Skubal, who is in his fifth major league season this year and is eligible for free agent status at the end of the 2026 season, responded when asked if he would sign a long-term contract with the team: "I'm going to keep it a secret, but I love playing in Detroit and I'm looking forward to the next spring training."

Skubal's impressive 2024 Triple Crown of American League pitchers earned him the title of the American League Young Award by unanimous votes at the end of the season, so his future will be of particular interest, and the Tigers will have to pay a considerable price if they want to keep Skubal for a long time.

Skubal has improved every year since he entered the major leagues in 2020, and last year ended the Tigers' dilemma of not having a playoff game since 2014, and the Astros were eliminated in the wild card game before losing to the Guardians in the American League Division playoffs.

Skubal is optimistic about the future of the Tigers, "We are a young team, a team hungry for winning, I am as confident as I was at the end of last season, and we have made some reinforcements after the season, so we are looking forward to the next spring training."

In fact, the Tigers don't have many postseason reinforcements, and only two people have signed major league contracts, this is veteran pitcher Alex Cobb and second baseman Gleyber Torres, both of whom signed a one-year $15 million to improve the starting rotation and infield.

"Gleyber Torres hit a 470-foot home run at Edrichard Field (home of the Tigers), so I'm glad he's on our team right now." Skubal laughed.