How MLB's looming CBA strife could lead to a Tigers' Tarik Skubal extension

The Detroit Tigers have one main issue to resolve in the next year: what to do with Tarik Skubal. He's a free agent after 2026, and the Tigers cannot lose him for just one meager draft pick.

Detroit either needs to trade him for a haul or find a way to extend him. An extension has seemed unlikely, thanks to Scott Boras preferring for his clients to hit the open market. But Skubal might be a different case.

As ESPN's Kiley McDaniel highlighted, there is now a non-zero chance the Tigers can extend Skubal before he becomes a free agent, and it's thanks to MLB's looming CBA strife in 2026.

How MLB's CBA strife could lead to Tigers extending Tarik Skubal

"It's unlikely Boras wants Skubal to be on the market through a labor stoppage that would leave him potentially signing right before spring training after some teams have spent their available cash and with the economic model of the game potentially changing in a way that hurts Skubal's market," McDaniel writes.

This uncertainty with the market and the looming labor strife could be the reason why Boras and Skubal are open to an extension in Detroit before he hits free agency.

As McDaniel reports, "One source said the CBA complication moves the odds that Skubal signs an extension before free agency from 0% to 10%."

More: How Tigers' GM Scott Harris might've revealed his concerning Tarik Skubal plan

That jump in percentage is a huge deal for the Tigers. One of the reasons why Detroit was rumored to trade Skubal was the high likelihood he'd test free agency.

But, if Boras and Skubal aren't confident he could land the big deal he's looking for in time before a labor stoppage, then signing a huge extension before then makes sense.

Of course, the Tigers need to reach the asking price of Skubal, which has been something the two sides are reportedly far apart on. But if Detroit is willing to match his demands, an extension could get done before he hits free agency.

There's no guarantee this extension gets done, but this report from McDaniel is the first sign that Skubal could potentially sign an extension before he hits free agency.

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