Where Tigers ace duo ranks among highest-paid pitchers in MLB

Thursday is one of those days Tigers owner Chris Ilitch probably shouldn't check his bank account. On Wednesday night, the Tigers signed the top ace remaining on the free-agent market – Framber Valdez – to a three-year, $115 million deal. On Thursday, they lost a landmark arbitration case to two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, and will owe him $32 million this coming season. That's a lot of money to invest in two starting pitchers for a mid-market franchise.

The question for the Tigers isn't whether Ilitch can afford it. He certainly can, as he has a net worth over $2 billion. But if Ilitch uses the contracts of Skubal and Valdez as an excuse to not further improve the team (especially offensively), then Detroit will not reach its end goal of winning a World Series in the former's final season in Motown.

Highest-paid pitchers in MLB: Where Valdez and Skubal rank this season

While the overall contracts of Skubal and Valdez won't rank among the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Blake Snell, their average annual value for the 2026 season will. The Tigers are spending more money than anyone expected on starting pitching next year. But it's important to put that spending in perspective. While Skubal and Valdez will make a combined $70.33 million, neither of those contracts is expected to last beyond 2028.

There are a couple of standouts on this list, starting with Shohei Ohtani, whose AAV is $70 million for next season with much of that money deferred until after he retires. Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom and Gerrit Cole remain complicated cases as each has suffered major injuries over the course of their contracts. It's why the Tigers have been scared off from handing Skubal a blank check. Starting pitchers are unpredictable when it comes to injury.

By next winter, Skubal will top this list, assuming we're not counting two-way phenomenon Ohtani. It's Scott Boras's goal to make Skubal the highest-paid starting pitcher in MLB. He'll have to test free agency to receive that honor.

What's the Tigers 2026 payroll with Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez?

Tigers fans have long been frustrated with Ilitch's unwillingness to blindly spend money on their on-field product like his father, Mike, once did. Both of those strategies have merit. Mike Ilitch won two AL pennants with Dave Dombrowski and then Al Avila pulling the strings. His wallet was never closed, but other parts of the organization suffered as a result.

Chris is less willing to take risks. There's a reason he doesn't want to throw a blank check at Skubal, but is willing to sign Valdez to a lucrative short-term deal. If anything were to happen to Valdez, he can write it off as a short-term mistake. The same cannot be said of the potential 10-year deal Skubal will receive in free agency.

But say what you want of the Tigers, which took their ace pitcher to arbitration only to sign his eventual replacement while waiting to hear the results. Detroit nearly made the ALCS last season. Ownership took notice, and has significantly added to the payroll. With Skubal making $32 million rather than the $19 million number the Tigers originally filed at, their payroll is projected to be around $230 million.

Last season, the Tigers spent just over $188 million on their roster. That's over a $40 million jump in one offseason, which is more than it sounds for a mid-market owner. They're on the verge of having a top-10 payroll in MLB.

While Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris claims one player cannot win the World Series, he clearly has an understanding with Ilitch that this window – if we can call it that – with one of the best pitchers in franchise history in tow won't last forever.

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