Twins vet’s bold prediction sees Tarik Skubal out-earning Gerrit Cole, Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Former Minnesota Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe recently forecasted that reigning AL Cy Young winner and Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal could out-earn Gerrit Cole and Yoshinobu Yamamoto when his contract expires. Skubal has been the talk of the town after a scintillating performance when he recorded the most strikeouts for a "Maddux" at 13 (complete game shutout of less than 100 pitches).

Plouffe envisioned a future with Skubal and Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes being the highest-paid pitchers in MLB.

"Yes. But I think also there's one guy that could stop him from that — it's Paul Skenes," Plouffe said. (16:32-16:37)

Plouffe suggested on Tuesday's episode of "Baseball Today," hosted by Chris Rose, that only Skenes could perhaps supersede the possible figures in Skubal's future contract. However, he immediately retracted this upon realizing that the Pirates won't shell out gargantuan amounts of money for a player.

"If Paul Skenes somehow wants to sign a deal — and I guess so. It can't be him, because the Pirates aren't going to give him that," Plouffe said (16:38). "If he gets traded and somebody else wants to give him an extension, I think he might be able to surpass what (Tarik) Skubal is going to get because the (latter) is going to be 30 (years old)."

The former Twins player also cited that the AL Cy Young winner's AAV could peak as high as $40,000,000 a year, which would amount to $400 million given his performance.

"A 10-year deal is not far-fetched," Plouffe said (17:01). "He's probably going to get upper-echelon starting pitcher money even for 10 years. So you're thinking 40 million [average annual value]. If he does that, he'll be the highest-paid pitcher in baseball."

Biggest contracts given to pitchers ft. Tarik Skubal's $400 million contract forecast

Of the 20 richest contracts ever given to MLB players, only three have been handed out to pitchers. Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Gerrit Cole made the list with deals upwards of $300 million. If and when Trevor Plouffe's forecasted 10-year contract worth $40 million annually for Tarik Skubal comes to fruition, it will be placed among the highest ever.

Ohtani was handed the largest contract for a player who pitches ahead of the 2024 season at $700 million. The caveat of Ohtani's deal, however, is that he will be paid just $2 million annually until 2033.

Skubal's deal would slot in second place if the forecast happens, as a 10-year contract with a $40 million AAV will amount to $400 million. It would be the richest contract ever given to a pitcher, full stop — and the fifth-biggest in MLB history.

Yamamoto's 12-year, $325 million deal comes next on the list. The former three-time Pacific League MVP and Eiji Sawamura Awardee has lived up to the billing so far since his move to MLB.

Finally, Gerrit Cole's $324 million contract would be bumped off to fourth place. The former Astros ace moved to the Bronx ahead of the 2020 season and made a splash when, for a time, he was the most expensive pitcher in the league.