Conflicting reports about Tigers' direction should puzzle Guardians fans 

While the Cleveland Guardians are entering the 2026 season at a crossroads, they’re not the only team in the American League Central that needs to figure out a direction for the future. 

Enter the Detroit Tigers, who blew a 15 1/2 game lead against the Guardians in the AL Central but ended up besting Cleveland in the postseason and making it to the ALDS. They also employ the best pitcher on the planet in Tarik Skubal — though his future is a bit up in the air due to the fact he’s set to be a free agent after 2026. 

Skubal’s uncertain future has led to his name being floated in trade rumors, which have hit overdrive as of late. 

On the eve of this week’s Winter Meetings MLB insider Ken Rosenthal published a story about how the Tigers need to go all-in in 2026 to capitalize on Skubal’s final year of team control as opposed to trading him. 

Less than 24 hours after that, however, president of baseball operations Scott Harris said that the Tigers “don’t have any untouchables” on their roster, marking the most frank remarks he’s made about Skubal’s future. 

Well okay then. 

Although the Tigers have already made one addition to their major league roster in the form of a one-year $7 million pact with starting pitcher Drew Anderson, he hasn’t pitched in MLB since 2021. 

Even if the Tigers asking price for Skubal is "enormous,” per ESPN’s Buster Olney, Harris not calling him untouchable cracks the door open a little bit more when it comes to trading him. 

The Tigers are going to have to navigate Tarik Skubal trade rumors all offseason

While the Guardians haven’t made a big move at the Winter Meetings (and likely won’t), the Tigers approach being a bit jumbled should be music to their ears considering how dominant Skubal has been as of late. Not only has he won two straight Cy Youngs, but he also has a 0.77 ERA in 35 regular season innings against the Guardians. 

And if that’s enough, he had a dominant 7 2/3 inning outing against Cleveland in the postseason with 14 strikeouts. It was Skubal at his best, and it’s hard to imagine a world where the Tigers aren’t a thorn in the Guardians side so long as Skubal is on the roster. 

On Monday, Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti was asked about Skubal staying in the division, where he said: “I’d be happy to face him as little as possible moving forward. He’s really good.”

The Guardians should be better in 2026 thanks to the interesting rookies on their roster, but the Tigers have enough talent to compete in a way the Twins and Royals may not be able to. 

If anything, the Tigers’ “will they won’t they” saga with Skubal is another reminder of how lucky the Guardians are to have José Ramírez locked into a long-term contract.