Tarik Skubal is going to get traded. That is not speculation anymore. It is now a matter of when and where.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Wednesday that it is now a foregone conclusion that the Detroit Tigers will move their two-time Cy Young ace. Passan said flatly that Skubal “is gonna be traded” and added that “the expectation is that is gonna happen within the next day or two.”
The MLB trade deadline is Monday, August 3, at 6 p.m. ET. If Passan is right, this deal happens over the weekend, and every contending team is scrambling to make sense of what it might cost.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the current favorite to land Skubal, per Passan. That is not a huge surprise. The Dodgers have the farm system to make the deal happen, they have the willingness to spend on stars, and they are in win-now mode after last year’s World Series title. Getting Skubal would give them a rotation that includes a two-time Cy Young winner alongside their existing arms.
The Milwaukee Brewers are the other team most heavily connected, and they could offer a strong prospect package to make it happen. The Chicago Cubs, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, are also considering Skubal as their blockbuster option. Beyond that, the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, and Tampa Bay Rays have all been mentioned as potential landing spots.
The Tigers have been the ones deciding whether to trade Skubal or hold onto him. Detroit has spent months weighing the value of extending Skubal versus cashing in for a massive prospect return. Passan reported Wednesday that they have decided to do the latter.
This is the right call by the Tigers, even though it hurts. Skubal is going to command more money than Detroit can realistically pay when he becomes a free agent after 2026. Rather than watching him walk for nothing, the Tigers can turn him into a franchise-changing haul of young talent right now.
Skubal himself is having another dominant season. His numbers this year continue to place him in the discussion for elite starting pitcher in all of baseball. Whoever gets him is adding a legitimate ace to their rotation with a chance to lock him up long-term this winter if they want to.
The Dodgers make the most sense from a competitive standpoint. Their rotation has dealt with injuries this year, and adding Skubal would give them the ability to pitch him and their other top arms in a playoff series while keeping the bullpen fresh. That is a scary proposition for anyone hoping to knock off Los Angeles in October.
The Cubs and Brewers are the more interesting angles. Both teams are contending in the NL Central, and adding Skubal would be a message that they are serious about winning it all this year. Both teams also have real prospect capital and could put together a package that at least matches whatever the Dodgers offer.
The Tigers will get to pick between multiple strong offers. The specific return will define this trade forever. If Detroit gets top-100 prospects plus multiple pieces, they win regardless of who they send Skubal to. If they get less than that, questions will be asked about whether they should have held on.
Watch this space over the next 48 hours. When the deal drops, the entire baseball world is going to react.
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.
