Tarik Skubal is going to be the biggest name at the MLB trade deadline. Whether he is actually traded is a different question, but the pressure on Detroit to move him is building by the day.
Skubal is the reigning two-time American League Cy Young Award winner. That is worth stating outright because it explains why every contender in baseball is at least checking in on him. He is 29, in the final guaranteed year of team control, and one of the best pitchers on the planet when healthy.
Health is the wrinkle. Skubal missed five weeks earlier this season after undergoing surgery on his left elbow. He is back and pitching well again, but the elbow question is going to loom over every conversation. A team is not paying premium prospect capital for a rental with an elbow issue.
The bigger problem is what has happened to Detroit around him. The Tigers were a legitimate playoff contender in April. Once Skubal landed on the injured list on May 4, Detroit lost 21 of its next 25 games. That is a franchise-altering slide. The team is not going to catch Cleveland in the AL Central and the Wild Card race is competitive enough that Detroit is now on the outside looking in.
Scott Harris and the Tigers front office have a real decision. Do they trade their ace for a package of prospects that could reshape the farm system? Or do they hold Skubal, hope for a wild second-half run, and figure out a long-term extension in the offseason?
Trading him is the harder move to sell to the fan base. Detroit fans have waited a long time to have a superstar arm. Moving Skubal, even for a strong return, would signal a rebuild that nobody in Detroit wants to hear about.
The market is real. The Dodgers need starting pitching. The Yankees need starting pitching. The Phillies could absolutely use another arm. The Mets have been rumored to be in on every big pitcher. The Padres have chased aces in the past. There are five or six contenders who could put together a competitive package.
Sandy Alcantara being pulled off the market makes Skubal more valuable. Reid Detmers with the Angels is another name being floated. Sonny Gray and Kevin Gausman could shake loose if their teams stumble. Joe Ryan and Michael Wacha are second-tier options.
Skubal is the top of that pyramid. If Detroit moves him, expect a package that includes multiple top-100 prospects and possibly a young MLB player. If Detroit holds him, the story becomes whether they can lock him up long-term this winter before he hits free agency.
The Tigers have three weeks to decide. Everybody in baseball is watching.
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.
