Tarik Skubal is the best pitcher in baseball when healthy. He just won his second straight Cy Young Award in 2025. He is set for free agency after the 2026 season. He is currently on the injured list following elbow surgery. And the Detroit Tigers are starting to seriously consider trading him.
MLB insider Ken Rosenthal has reported that the Tigers will likely move Skubal before the August 3 trade deadline. The reason is simple math. The Tigers are 22-37. They are in last place in the AL Central. They are 11.5 games back. The 2025 magic is gone.
Detroit was 4-20 in their last 24 games before May 4. The offense, which was outstanding last season, has been one of the worst in baseball this year. The defense has slipped. Several key players have regressed. The team that was supposed to compete for the division has bottomed out.
Trading Skubal makes business sense even if it hurts to do. He is going to be a free agent. Before his injury, he was expected to break the record for the largest contract for a pitcher in MLB history. The Tigers would have had to commit something north of $400 million to keep him. That is a massive commitment for a small-market team that just got exposed.
The list of potential suitors is loaded. The Los Angeles Dodgers have been mentioned. The New York Yankees are in. The Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers have been linked. The Tampa Bay Rays could be a longshot. The Toronto Blue Jays have been mentioned by some insiders.
The package the Tigers can demand is significant. Even with the injury concern, Skubal is a top-five pitcher in baseball when healthy. Teams trading for him would be doing so knowing they likely have a half-season of him before he hits the open market. That should command three or four top prospects, with at least one elite name.
The Dodgers feel like the obvious destination. They have the prospect capital. They have the financial flexibility to extend him. They have the championship culture. They have Andrew Friedman, who has built the deepest pitching staff in baseball over the past decade by acquiring exactly this kind of talent. If the Tigers move Skubal, the Dodgers should be the first call.
The Yankees are interesting. They have been desperate for an ace next to Carlos Rodon. Aaron Judge is still in his prime. The Yankees’ window is wide open. They would have to part with some top prospects, but they have the resources to make it work.
The Tigers’ front office is now in the most important stretch of their tenure. They have to balance the long-term vision with the short-term reality. Trading Skubal hurts. Not trading him hurts more. The math says you get value while you can.
Get ready for the biggest trade of the MLB deadline. Skubal is moving. The only question is to whom.
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.
