Tarik Skubal Trade Talk Has Cooled Considerably. Here’s Why the Tigers Are Standing Firm
Two weeks ago, Tarik Skubal was the biggest name on the trade market. Every contender was calling. The Tigers were reportedly listening. And the entire sport was bracing for a July blockbuster.
Now? Not so much.
MLB insiders reported this weekend that speculation around a Skubal trade has cooled considerably as the August 3 deadline approaches. The Los Angeles Dodgers, despite the Shohei Ohtani injury, are not viewed as being more motivated to make a run at the reigning AL Cy Young winner. Other contenders have also backed off.
What changed?
The short answer: Scott Harris found his backbone.
The Tigers general manager reportedly set the asking price for Skubal so high that it scared off almost every serious suitor. According to multiple reports, Detroit was demanding at least three top-100 prospects, plus a major league ready starter, plus another lottery-ticket arm. That is essentially the Juan Soto trade template, and no team was willing to gut its farm system for a pitcher, even one as good as Skubal.
And here is the thing. Detroit does not have to trade him.
Skubal is under team control through 2026. That is another full year and a half of the best pitcher in the American League. The Tigers are 52-48 and sitting three games back in the AL Central wild card race. They are not obviously in it, but they are not obviously out either.
If Detroit believes they can compete in 2027 (and there are reasons to believe they can), then trading Skubal now for prospects who will not be ready for two or three years does not solve any real problem. Better to run it back, make a push, and if it does not work out, trade him next July when the return could actually help the 2027 team.
That is exactly the calculus Harris is running. And it is the right one.
Skubal is having another Cy Young caliber season. He is 12-4 with a 2.11 ERA and 174 strikeouts. He has been the most consistent pitcher in baseball for the last two seasons. Every one of his starts feels like an event. Detroit fans have not had a homegrown ace like this since Justin Verlander in his prime.
The teams still lurking are the usual suspects. The Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Dodgers have all been connected. None of them are getting close to Detroit’s asking price.
The interesting wrinkle is what happens after 2026. Skubal is going to hit free agency at 30 years old with the best pitching resume of his generation. He is going to command a $350 million contract, maybe more. The Tigers are not going to be able to sign him without a fundamentally new ownership approach.
So the smart play is to enjoy the ride, push for a wild card, and if it does not work out, trade him next July when the pressure is higher and the return will be better.
Sorry, Dodgers fans. Sorry, Yankees fans. Skubal is staying in Detroit. For now.
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.
