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Tarik Skubal’s bet has paid off.

The two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner won his arbitration case Thursday, meaning he’ll make $32 million this year, per The Post’s Jon Heyman.

It’s a record salary for an arbitration-eligible player.

The Tigers, on the other hand, offered $19 million.

The decision comes after rumors that the Tigers could trade Skubal, especially with one year remaining on his contract.

“I don’t believe in untouchable players at any level,” Detroit top executive Scott Harris told MLB Network during the Winter Meetings in December, per ESPN. “It’s not a commentary on Tarik; it’s more of a blanket approach to building a winning organization. My job is to make this organization better.”

Skubal has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball across the last two years.

Despite starting his career with three seasons holding an ERA above 3.00, Skubal has led the American League with 2.39 and 2.21 marks in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

He also hit the 200 strikeout plateau in both campaigns.

By winning back-to-back Cy Youngs, Skubal became the first pitcher to do so since Jacob deGrom in 2018 and ’19.

A third straight would make him the first since Randy Johnson from 1999-2002.

Besides Skubal’s decision, the Tigers have been busy as of late.

They signed former Astros left-hander Framber Valdez to a three-year, $115 million deal Wednesday night, adding to a rotation that also consists of Skubal, Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize.

Valdez’s $38.3 million average annual value marked the most by a southpaw in MLB history.

The deal makes it less likely that Detroit will ship off Skubal before he hits free agency, since the Tigers have shown they’re willing to spend big to improve.

They now boast one of the top rotations in the league and look to build off their best postseason finishes — two straight Divisional round appearances — since 2014.

And Skubal will be paid handsomely for his potential final year in Motor City.

Paul Toboni and Ani Kilambi have been doing work on the waiver wire lately. They are churning through players on the fringes of the 40-man roster. Today, they claimed Ken Waldichuk from the Rays and DFA’d George Soriano in the process. Soriano was only claimed last week, but the Nats still decided to move on.

On the surface, Waldichuk is a weird claim. He posted an ERA over 8 in the minor leagues last year as a 27 year old. However, there is more than what meets the eye here. Waldichuk is a former top 100 prospect with some pedigree. He was part of the trade that sent Frankie Montas to the Yankees in 2022.

At the time of that trade, Waldichuk was a big deal. He pitched in the Futures Game for the Yankees and was a strikeout machine in the minors. For his career, Waldichuk’s K/9 in the minors is 13.02. Despite low to mid 90’s velocity, Waldichuk’s fastball has always played up.

In 2022, he got a cup of coffee in the MLB with the A’s, before spending all of 2023 in their rotation. He has 175.2 career innings with a 5.28 ERA and 165 strikeouts. Things did not work out very well for him in the MLB, but he was still a young pitcher.

However, he had to undergo Tommy John Surgery, missing all of 2024. When he came back in 2025, he did not look like the same guy. The Minor League ERA of 8.17 makes that pretty clear. His velocity was down about 2 ticks and his control was not there.

Despite that, Waldichuk was still getting strikeouts. He fanned 68 batters in 54 minor league innings last year. The fact he was still getting strikeouts makes him sort of interesting. A lot of pitchers struggle in their first year back from Tommy John before looking better as they get further removed from surgery.

There are some signs that this could be the case for Waldichuk. In bullpen’s this offseason, his fastball averaged 93.9 MPH. This season, he only averaged 91.6 MPH on his heater. If the Nats can get Waldichuk to sit 94 consistently, they could have something here.

Despite being a starter for his whole career, I think the Nats should transition Waldichuk to the bullpen. He has proven he is not a very effective starter at this point. Waldichuk throws his fastball a lot and I think letting it rip in shorter spurts could help him. A lot of his profile just feels like a failed starter who could thrive in the bullpen.

Even if the velocity is back, Waldichuk will still need to improve his control. Walks were a concern before the surgery, and the control was very bad last year. This is another reason why I think a move to the bullpen makes sense.

As we have seen, there is a chance Waldichuk is not on the team next week. Just ask guys like George Soriano and Micky Gasper. However, I think he is an interesting enough reclamation project for Toboni to want to see what he has in Spring Training. If he does not look good this spring, you can always DFA him again. 

The Nats have made a lot of additions on the waiver wire lately, but this one is more intriguing than some of the others. Waldichuk has a pretty high ceiling and has more pedigree than your average waiver claim.

It’s time for part two of our honorable mentions, this time covering exclusively the arms that just missed list. As a reminder, next week will mark the beginning of our top twenty and continue biweekly over the course of this spring. Check in every Tuesday and Thursday for more, and please let us know what you think in the comments below!

Michael Morales – RHP

2025 Statistic of Note – 2026 K-BB ratio: 1.89 (2025 at AA: 5.15)

That is not a fun statistic to share about Moose Morales, who ran into a wall on his second tour through the Texas League. Always a zone controller, that seemed to get away from Morales this year, as he issued as many free passes as he has in his career but with a troubling downtick in strikeouts. Morales remains young, just 23 years old, but in his third year of development, you’d hope to be moving forwards, not back. At this point, it seems like there’s no magical velo bump coming, so Morales will have to find a way to make his below-average fastball work at the big leagues, by throwing it stubbornly at the top of the zone and hoping the rest of the arsenal cooperates. That’s where there’s hope in the profile: his changeup and curve are both swing-and-miss offerings, if he can find them regularly. -KP

Walter Ford – RHP

2025 Statistic of Note – 18% K rate 

High school pitchers are the most volatile draft group, and that’s being borne out in Ford’s career so far. He’ll have fantastic outings followed by forgettable ones. The fastball velo hasn’t jumped forward like one might hope, but there’s still swing-and-miss promise in his slider. Unfortunately, the lack of a meaningful heater is capping his ceiling right now; even at 20 years old, Ford should be handling A-ball hitters with a little more authority. He will go through torrid stretches where you can see him putting it all together – he won Pitcher of the Month honors for the organization in June – but needs to close that last step so the forward momentum is constant and consistent. But he’s certainly not the first prep pitcher to struggle to do so; nor will he be the last.

Lucas Kelly – RHP

2025 Statistic of Note – Has not debuted

The Mariners’ sixth rounder from last July’s draft, Lucas Kelly was one of the premiere relief prospects in all of college baseball last season. Featuring a Sewald-ian release point from a 6’4 frame, Kelly achieves ridiculous VAA (Vertical Approach Angle, if you’re unfamiliar, is essentially a measurement of how steeply the pitch is approaching a hitter) metrics and can rush his heater up into the triple digits. Given his flat approach and high octane velocity, Kelly’s fastball eats hitters alive at the top of the zone and should be a plus pitch or better. His breaking ball has two somewhat similar shapes, but his gyro-spin cutter has the potential to be a weapon for him as a professional. The secondaries and command need some refinement, but the raw potential for a leverage reliever is apparent. With some development, Kelly could easily be the best pure relief prospect the M’s have had in a long time.

Danny Macchiarola – RHP

2025 Statistic of Note – Has not debuted

Macchiarola, last year’s 8th rounder out of Holy Cross, didn’t get a ton of fanfare when he joined the organization. The 6’2 180lb right hander had a relatively standard arsenal with solid, if unspectacular numbers at a small school in the Northeast. Considering he’s yet to debut as a professional, what’s changed?

Drawing rave reviews from offseason camp, Macchiarola was mentioned as a standout amongst the other gas campers, seemingly having added a tick on his arsenal as a whole. Possessing the innate ability to manipulate spin on the baseball, Macchiarola looks like he’s got a shot at debuting in pro ball with a complete four pitch mix that’s capable of putting hitters away consistently. He’s shown he can command his pitches consistently; if the velocity truly has taken a step forward, the Mariners may have found themselves another late round gem.

Matt Tiberia – RHP

2025 Statistic of Note – 2.27 ERA

Tiberia was one of the biggest surprises of last year’s minor league season, emerging from the 18th round out of Lynn University to put together a really nice season for the Nuts. The wiry right hander doesn’t have the most overpowering arsenal, but with a nice sinker that touches the mid 90’s, a tight slider, and solid mechanics down the mound, the 6’3 hurler has the look of someone who should continue to be a starter. He did miss some time with injury last season, but now healthy, the right hander should get a shot at starting the season with the Frogs in Everett as a rotation mainstay. If he’s able to replicate the kind of season he had last year, he’ll be all but assured to find his name considerably higher up our list come midseason.

Brock Moore – RHP

2025 Statistic of Note – 12.5 K/9

Moore is undeniably the most volatile pitcher to make this list. Strictly a reliever, Moore’s fastball frequently eclipses 100 mph and is paired with a hellacious two plane breaking ball that strikes out a ton of opposing batters. Throw in a changeup with massive fade and velo separation, and the makings of an elite reliever seem to be ready made. The problem? Borderline 20-grade command. Moore was the owner of a truly astounding 13.5 BB/9 mark last season and has little, if any, idea where any of his offerings are going. He’s a rather good athlete and evaluators have remained bullish on his ability to reign in his arsenal enough to get by, but until that point, he’s a tough watch out on the mound. With the best pure stuff in the system, hopefully the hulking right hander can dial it in and become the lockdown reliever his stuff would indicate he can be.

I think it’s safe to say that most St. Louis Cardinals fans are anxious to identify the next St. Louis Cardinals core group of players you rebuild around. Once identified, you would hope to lock those players into long-term extensions. If you were St. Louis Cardinals President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom, would you work to extend shortstop Masyn Winn? Would your answer be now, later or never?

The St. Louis Cardinals still have four years of team control as he’s currently on a trajectory to reach free agency after the 2029 season, but he’s eligible for arbitration after the upcoming 2026 season. Fangraphs has Masyn pinned as a 3.6 WAR while ZIPS projects him with a 3.1 WAR for the 2026 season. His elite defensive skills have already been rewarded as a Gold Glove finalist in 2024 and a Gold Glove winner in 2025. Offensively, Masyn had a solid 2024 slashing a .267 average with 15 home runs and an OPS of .730, but was hampered by nagging injuries in 2025 with his average dipping to .253, 9 home runs and an OPS of .673.

What would a Masyn Winn extension look like? As I shared a few weeks ago, it’s believed that an extension at this point in his career would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 years for around $100 million dollars. My initial reaction to that number and those years is I would jump at the chance if I were Chaim Bloom and Masyn Winn’s agent Andrew Guerra said yes. The cynical side of me says that I would wait at least one more year to see what Masyn’s performance is like now that the torn meniscus in his right knee has been surgically repaired. That would be the reason for a potential “later” answer.

The X factor for me is Masyn Winn’s maturity and potential team leadership role. He addressed that during the Winter Warmup a few weeks ago. He said that he specifically wanted to help JJ Wetherholt adjust to the major leagues.

Masyn Winn – “As far as…leadership…it’s something I take pride in. I’m gonna go out there and compete and play how I play…I’m really looking forward to playing with JJ…I want him to be himself…I want him to go out there and have some fun…I wanna be there for JJ and let him be great.”

I’ve seen enough of Masyn Winn to know that I want him to be a part of the new St. Louis Cardinals core, but I understand those who want to see more before they would offer an extension. What’s your opinion? Now, later or never?

The Yankees claimed right-hander Osvaldo Bido off waivers from the Angels on Thursday.

It’s the fifth time the 30-year-old has been claimed this offseason since he finished last season with the A’s.

Bido pitched 79 ¹/₃ innings in 2025 in 26 appearances, including 10 starts, for the A’s.

While Bido struggled with Sacramento last season with a 5.87 ERA, he pitched effectively for the A’s in 2024, with a 1.089 WHIP in 63 ¹/₃ innings.

He originally signed with the Pirates out of the Dominican Republic in 2017.

Bido’s arrival to the Yankees comes after the Angels designated him for assignment last week after they acquired lefty Jayvien Sandridge from the Yankees and needed to make room on their 40-man roster.

To open up a spot on their roster, the Yankees designated infielder Braden Shewmake for assignment.

The lefty-swinging Shewmake played 85 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in ’25 after the Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Royals last offseason.

The long wait is finally over!

According to sources close to ESPN, Detroit Tigers ace hurler won his salary arbitration case on Thursday, giving him a $13 million raise over the franchise’s proposed figures and setting the record for the largest salary ever awarded through arbitration at $32 million in 2026.

That number surpasses the previous record set by outfielder Juan Soto, who settled with the New York Yankees at $31 million in 2024. The two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner is represented by super-agent Scott Boras, who also represented Soto in his case.

The decision also sets two arbitration records for pitchers. Skubal became the highest-paid arbitration-eligible pitcher by leapfrogging David Price, who earned $19.75 million with the Tigers in 2015; he received the largest raise for an arbitration-eligible pitcher by surpassing Jacob deGrom, who saw his salary surge from $7.4 million to $17 million — an increase of $9.6 million — with the New York Mets in 2019.

All in all, Skubal received a $21.85 million raise from $10.15 million in 2025 to $32 million in 2026 — a meteoric 215.3% increase in pay.

Skubal will now earn the sixth-highest base salary among MLB pitchers this season, with Zack Wheeler ($42 million, Philadelphia Phillies), Framber Valdez ($38 million, Tigers), Jacob DeGrom ($38 million, Texas Rangers), Gerrit Cole ($36 million, Yankees) and Tyler Glasnow ($32.5 million, Los Angeles Dodgers) ahead of him.

The Dodgers had a clear need on offense, and they filled it by signing the best free agent available. Outfielder Kyle Tucker and his four-year, $240-million contract turned a weakness into a strength. Let’s look at the outfield as spring training nears.

40-man roster outfielders

• Kyle Tucker RF
• Andy Pages CF
• Teoscar Hernández LF
• Alex Call LF/RF
• Michael Siani CF
• Ryan Ward LF/RF/1B

Things to watch

Elevating the floor and ceiling: Dodgers outfielders as a group in 2025 hit .240/.299/.415, and ranked 17th MLB with a 98 wRC+. Upgrading from Michael Conforto to Tucker should work wonders. Tucker has a 130 wRC+ and at least four Wins Above Replacement in each of the last five seasons, the latter even in 2024 when he missed half the season with a fractured right tibia.

Staying healthy: The vast majority of Dodgers position players are in their 30s, but Tucker is 29 and joins 25-year-old Andy Pages in the suddenly more youthful outfield. Teoscar Hernández, now in left field, struggled in a 2025 season that saw him miss time with a groin strain and fouling a ball off his foot. When healthy, Hernández can be a force offensively, and now he’ll be a little further down a much deeper lineup. In addition to the shin injury in 2024, Tucker missed time with the Cubs last season with a calf strain and played through a hand fracture in June that led to a second-half decline.

Room for growth: Andy Pages had a dreadful postseason with just four hits in 51 at-bats, but also made a championship-saving catch in Kool Aid Man fashion in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series in Toronto. Pages and coming off a 27-homer, 4-ish WAR season and is also only 25 years old. There’s a lot to like here, especially when Pages is likely to hit at or near the bottom of the lineup.

Useable depth: The other three outfielders on the 40-man all have minor league options. Alex Call is the one most likely to stick on the bench, with the caveat that the inevitable return of Kiké Hernández hasn’t yet happened. Michael Siani is a defense-first center fielder who could be this year’s Justin Dean, but let’s see how many more times Siani is placed on waivers first.

Will Ward get the call? Ryan Ward had the best of his three seasons in Triple-A Oklahoma City last year in winning Pacific Coast League MVP, but was passed over in favor of several other call-ups with more defensive value before getting added to the 40-man roster in November to avoid losing him to minor league free agency. Ward is a modern-day Maytag repairman in that his best two positions are designated hitter and first base, and the Dodgers have Hall of Famers at those positions. Ward, who turns 28 in three weeks, also can monitor corner outfield space when needed, but now with Tucker the team is well-stocked in both left field and right field as well. There doesn’t appear to be much of a path to playing time for Ward on the Dodgers, but expect the Cactus League — he played in 45 spring training games over the last three years — to be his showcase to other teams who might have room for him.