Will the Tigers Trade Tarik Skubal? Insiders Say Detroit is Considering Buying AND Selling
The most interesting story of this MLB trade deadline is happening in Detroit, and it does not fit neatly into a category.
The Tigers, at 50-56 and hovering on the edge of the playoff race, are reportedly weighing the most unusual deadline strategy in recent memory. They are considering trading two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal while at the same time trying to convince their fanbase and clubhouse that they have not thrown in the towel on 2026.
Yes, you read that right. Sell the ace, but stay in the race.
The logic is uncomfortable but it makes some sense on paper. Skubal is scheduled to become a free agent after this season. The Tigers, according to reports out of Detroit, have very little belief they can retain him at what will be a record-shattering number for a starting pitcher. Trading him now brings back a haul of prospects and controllable players that could help them contend for real starting next year and beyond.
Standing pat means potentially watching him walk in November for a compensatory pick and nothing else.
Everything about that math points to a trade. Everything about the standings points to standing pat.
Rival executives are watching Detroit’s decision very closely. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the team most linked to Skubal, and they reportedly match up well with the Tigers on prospect capital. The Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, and Milwaukee Brewers also would have interest if Detroit made him available.
The Dodgers have officially said Skubal is not their primary focus at this deadline, but reporting from The Athletic says they remain engaged. That is how these things always start. A team publicly downplays the interest right up until the deal is done.
The problem for Detroit is that pretending to still contend after moving Skubal is going to be a hard sell. Fans are not stupid. Moving the best pitcher in franchise history and telling the room to go compete without him is going to land the way you think it will land. Some Tigers players will privately view it as management giving up, no matter what the team says publicly.
The one thing that could change all of this is a hot week. If Detroit rips off a stretch and pulls back to two games under .500, the calculus changes. Every one of those wins makes Skubal harder to trade. Every loss makes the pressure to move him louder.
The August 3 deadline is one week away. Detroit is trying to have it both ways, which almost never works. The safer bet is that the Tigers commit to one path in the final 48 hours. Whether that path involves shipping the reigning Cy Young winner out of town is the story of the entire deadline.
The clock is ticking.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
