It’s been a minute since Seattle Mariners fans seriously played the Tarik Skubal trade game without immediately laughing ourselves out of the room. We did the winter thing: see Seattle’s name tossed into the rumor blender, picture Skubal carving at T-Mobile Park, and pretend we’re totally fine with whatever prospect package Detroit would demand. Then reality showed up.
Now, we’re not talking about “could the Mariners line up a prospect offer?” We’re talking about whether the Mariners would ever want to live in the same neighborhood as Skubal’s 2026 salary fight.
Mariners fans can stop dreaming as Skubal’s arb fight turns absurd
Per the arbitration filing figures, Skubal filed at $32 million while the Tigers filed at $19 million — a $13 million gap that’s basically an arb case and a hostage negotiation rolled into one.