Over the last couple of years, there are very few victories that the Minnesota Twins have over the Detroit Tigers. Minnesota went 5-8 against Detroit last season head to head, and the Tigers reached the postseason as a Wild Card team.
On top of that, the Tigers have seen their ace Tarik Skubal win the American League Cy Young Award two seasons in a row as the undisputed top pitcher yet again. There isn't much the Twins have that puts them over the Tigers, but the club's latest move exudes much more class than Detroit.
The Twins were able to settle with their ace Joe Ryan ahead of an arbitration hearing, which not only signaled respect for the All-Star pitcher, but axed a distraction that would have hurt the Twins during the season. The same cannot be said for the Tigers right now.
Twins, Tigers treating their top pitchers differently with arbitration hearings looming
Skubal, 29, filed for $32 million, while the Tigers felt much different than their star, filing him at $19 million. Now, David Price's $19 million settlement in 2015 is a record, but we're talking about a much different source of power here. Skubal has produced a 12.9 bWAR the last two seasons, plus a pair of ERA titles and a strikeout title.
Skubal is the best pitcher in the world and there is really not much to debate there. The Tigers don't seem to care much, and would rather go through an arbitration hearing that could sour their relationship with Skubal. Do they intend on trading him? Maybe that's why they have let their foot off the gas on Skubal, but if he stays, Detroit is looking at a major fumble internally. The Tigers are back to relevancy, and most of it is thanks to Skubal. Why screw around with that?
Yes, the difference in dollars for Ryan and Skubal is pretty hefty, but that isn't the point. The Twins avoiding a hearing shows that they are prioritizing Ryan's happiness and comfort with the organization. That stuff matters for players, not just the money, whether you want to believe it or not.
The funny thing is, Ryan and Skubal can laugh (or complain) together with Team USA. Both pitchers are ready to compete in the 2026 World Baseball Classic with the United States, and perhaps Skubal can pick Ryan's brain about his process to getting Minnesota to settle with him ahead of arbitration. Twins fans were surprised that the organization caved a little for Ryan, so maybe there is something for Skubal to learn from our ace.