It’s beginning to become crunch time for the Detroit Tigers when it comes to figuring out what Tarik Skubal‘s future looks like. With the team hanging on by a thread in the American League playoff race, the Tigers are approaching the trade deadline stuck in no-man’s land, which is a dangerous place to be when you have a trade candidate like Skubal at your disposal.
Detroit could take a risk and hold onto Skubal for the rest of the year before trying to sign him to a long-term contract extension this upcoming offseason, or it could unload him now and get a hefty haul for his services before he potentially leaves for nothing in free agency. The Tigers know they may have no choice but to trade Skubal, and if that ends up being what happens, the front office already knows what it wants in exchange for the two-time Cy Young Award winner.
Tigers Want Starting Pitching in Potential Tarik Skubal Trade
In that respect, the Rays are a potential suitor; Santiago Suárez (9 BB in 74 IP this year) is one name to know.
@MLBNetworkIt’s tough to argue that there is a better starting pitcher in the game of baseball than Skubal right now. He has won the American League Cy Young Award in each of the past two seasons, and while he won’t take home the trophy again this season thanks to a procedure he had to undergo on his left elbow earlier this year, he is still putting up big numbers for the Tigers this year (6-5, 2.83 ERA, 98 K, 0.93 WHIP).
Seeing the best pitcher in the league emerge as a trade candidate has put the rest of the majors on notice, and if Detroit does trade Skubal, it is going to get a massive return for him (even though he is in the final year of his current contract). The thing that everyone is wondering, though, is what the Tigers will want in exchange for Skubal.
The team’s list of needs isn’t exactly short, so there are several different avenues the team could pursue when gauging offers from teams across the league. According to a new report, though, if Detroit is going to trade Skubal, it sounds like the front office is going to prioritize getting some starting pitchers in return for him.
“If the Tigers trade Tarik Skubal, they will likely prioritize acquiring starters who dominate the strike zone (a longstanding Scott Harris priority),” Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported in a post on X. “In that respect, the Rays are a potential suitor; Santiago Suárez (9 BB in 74 IP this year) is one name to know.”
Tigers Need to Make a Decision on Tarik Skubal’s Trade Status
GettyThe Detroit Tigers are expected to trade pitcher Tarik Skubal before the Aug. 3 deadline.
There’s really no winning this situation for the Tigers, because no matter what they do, they seem to be in trouble. Trading Skubal would be an admission that the team is resetting, which is always a tough pill for the players and fans to swallow. But if they hold onto Skubal, it seems likely they will watch him sign a big-money deal with a new team in free agency.
The most prudent decision would obviously be to trade Skubal, but it remains to be seen if Detroit’s front office will be able to make itself pull the trigger on any potential deal. The Tigers are attempting to show that they can still make a playoff run, but they are running out of time to convince the front office that it is worth holding onto Skubal for the rest of the year.
Insider Reveals What Tigers Want in Potential Tarik Skubal Trade