Tarik Skubal is starting Game 2 for the United States in theWorld Baseball Classicin just a few hours, but that's not the part of his future that's most interesting.

Skubal, arguably the game's best pitcher and the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, is a free agent at the end of the 2026 season. In 2025, he had a 2.21 ERA, went 13-6 in 195.1 innings with 241 strikeouts, allowing just 33 walks. Somehow, that was an improvement on his already stellar 2024 numbers.

Pitching, especially reliable starting pitching, is at a premium in modern baseball. And it's hard to get more reliable than Skubal over the past two seasons. Unsurprisingly, then, trade rumors were flying during the 2025-2026 offseason. Most notably, theLos Angeles Dodgersreportedly checked in with theDetroit Tigersas to his availability.

RELATED:Reports Confirm Serious Dodgers-Tigers Trade Discussions For Cy Young Winner Tarik Skubal

Well, Skubal spoke a bit about his future in Detroit recently and, based on his comments, it doesn't seem like there's much chance he's staying put for the foreseeable future.

CLEVELAND - Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers reacts after the sixth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on September 23, 2025. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Skubal, speaking toUSA Today Sportsrecently, said that the Tigers haven't made him a long-term offer of any kind. And while that doesn't bother him, that does not bode well for Detroit fans hoping to keep him in a Tiger uniform.

"For the most part, I try to live in the moment," he said, "and just appreciate where my feet are, and continue to strive to the best version of myself."

"There is no offer," he said. "And there won’t be an offer until the end of the season. My focus is on playing baseball and winning this year. I’ll deal with the contract stuff at the end of the year, and then we’ll kind of see. And that’s fine. It’s their decision."

Skubal's expected, if healthy, to command one of the largest contracts inMajor League Baseballhistory for a pitcher, and while the Tigers have shown some willingness to spend money, signing Framber Valdez this winter, Javy Baez recently, and bringing back Jack Flaherty, they're still a smaller-market team. Rumors had suggested they'd offered Skubal an extension around $100 million, but these comments imply even that didn't happen.

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