Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris met with the media on Monday following the conclusion of their regular season, which ultimately resulted in missing the MLB Playoffs for the first time since 2023.
Harris, who reiterated that the club plans to build through the draft with the occasional supplement from free agency, was also asked about the blockbuster trade of former ace Tarik Skubal, who had been the reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner.
Detroit Tigers POBO Scott Harris Speaks Honestly On The Tarik Skubal Trade
Harris was asked if he had any regrets over the blockbuster trade of Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers in early September, or the trade of Casey Mize to the San Diego Padres.
He explained that he believes that while the moves were justified at the time and that he doesn’t regret making the moves, he does regret the circumstances that led up to those decisions.
“I think the answer is still no, I don’t have regrets over that,” he said of the trades on Monday.
“I think the third part maybe added into the question is – I didn’t share this with you guys at the time, but I was very much thinking about it,” he continued. “When you have a 6-22 May, you put yourself on a path with no margin for error. You can’t afford another downturn. You can’t afford to have a situation where injuries and underperformance, or just fatigue from June, July and August, ultimately bites you in August and September.
“I think that’s how our season played out. I think when we lost Riley (Greene) in mid-August, it put us on a path for a second downturn that ultimately knocked us out of real contention for the division or the Wild Card. That was part of the calculus at the time of the Trade Deadline.”
Scott Harris Does Not Regret Making The Trades Of Tarik Skubal And Casey Mize
Harris continued by saying that he doesn’t regret the deals, and that not making them could have potentially set the organization back further.
“I don’t regret it,” he continued. “I regret putting the team in the position where we had to trade those guys, for sure. But the decision at the time, while it was really difficult at the time given where we were relative to the playoffs, I think it was the right decision. And I think those are incredibly important decisions. Because if you make the wrong decision and you lose out on all of that talent I talked about – and perhaps maybe you had, and you still don’t make the playoffs – it’s less visible to fans, but it’s very visible internally. That’s a miss, and it sets you back. So, I think upon reflection, I don’t really regret it. I regret putting our team in that position, but I don’t regret the decision.”
Harris was also asked about his conversations with Skubal following the trade, but he declined to provide specifics about what was discussed between the two sides.
“As far as Tarik, I don’t think it’s fair or right to share any of the conversations that have happened,” he said. “Those should remain between Tarik and me. I know there are some things that have leaked out; they’re not all true. But I’m not going to stand up here and share private conversations publicly.”
Scott Harris Has Message for Ex-Tigers Ace Tarik Skubal After Controversial Trade