Tarik Skubal Trade Rumors Heat Up as Tigers Collapse: Will Detroit Actually Move Its Ace?
The Detroit Tigers are spiraling, and that means the Tarik Skubal trade rumors are only going to get louder. With Detroit careening toward irrelevance, the two-time Cy Young winner has become the most fascinating name on the market.
The numbers tell the story. The Tigers have lost 17 of 20 and sit in last place in the AL Central at 21-34. When a team falls that far that fast, the front office has to start thinking about selling.
There is a complicating factor. Skubal, who is 29, landed on the injured list in early May and underwent surgery on May 6 to remove loose bodies in his elbow. You cannot trade a pitcher who is not throwing.
The good news for any interested team is that his recovery is ahead of schedule. He has already thrown a 40-pitch simulated game, and there is a real chance he is back well before the August 3 trade deadline.
That timeline matters enormously. A healthy Skubal pitching in July, with a Tigers season clearly lost, is exactly the scenario that turns trade speculation into a blockbuster. Jon Heyman of the New York Post has reported the chances of a deal are rising.
Rival executives reportedly believe Detroit will move him if the Tigers are out of the playoff race when the calendar turns to July. Based on the current standings, that looks like the most likely outcome.
So who lines up as a fit? The Dodgers are always the obvious candidate given their resources and their front office’s history of landing big names in the summer. A Skubal-to-Los Angeles deal would be the kind of move that reshapes the World Series picture.
The Braves are another logical suitor. They own one of the best records in baseball despite a rotation that has dealt with injuries all season, and adding an ace would make them terrifying in October.
The Brewers belong in the conversation too. Milwaukee has a history of making aggressive summer deals for front-line pitching, and a controllable ace would be a franchise-altering addition.
My read is that Detroit trades him if the recovery holds and the losing continues. You do not waste a two-time Cy Young winner on a lost season when contenders will pay a premium in young talent.
Watch the standings and watch the rehab. If Skubal is healthy and the Tigers are buried by early July, this becomes the defining trade of the deadline.
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.
