The San Diego Padres are one of the teams that should be in the mix for back-to-back American League Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal, provided that the Detroit Tigers don’t go on a sudden surge that gets them back into playoff contention.
Skubal is in the final year of his contract and is unlikely to return to Detroit next season, so a trade seems likely. The Padres have made big trades before, such as the one to acquire Mason Miller from the Athletics.
To land Skubal from the Tigers, it’s likely going to take a similar haul of prospects. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN put together several potential trade packages for Skubal, and one had the Padres landing him in exchange for some top prospects.
“The Padres desperately need an ace and, in A.J. Preller, employ a general manager who covets stars more than anyone,” McDaniel wrote. “It’s a perfect fit — until you consider how bare San Diego’s prospect cupboard has become in recent years. The Padres would have to part with their best young players for a player on an expiring contract, but they could justify that by also getting Torkelson, a failed first-round pick from a prior Detroit regime, to address another need at first base.
Tarik Skubal Would Cost Fortune for Padres
The Padres were willing to pay a hefty price for Mason Miller, so it wouldn’t be too big of a stretch for them to be willing to pay a similar price for Tarik Skubal. Their offense is their biggest problem, but they have a few starting pitchers on the injured list such as Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish.
San Diego still has Michael King and Nick Pivetta in its rotation, but another arm, especially one like Skubal could enhance their chances of potentially taking down the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason.
Catching them at the top of the National League West is going to be hard, as San Diego is eight games back. However, the wild card is still very much in play, and having Skubal ready to start Game 1 of the wild card series would be big for the Padres, and that could give them the advantage to potentially win the best-of-three series and make a deep run in the postseason just as they did in 2022.
They have some solid prospects still in the system, but they need to decide if it’s worth giving up a big haul.
Padres Thin on Prospects
Because of the Miller deal last summer, the Padres might be a little bit thin on top prospects, so that could complicate things as they weight the cost of trying to acquire Skubal from the Tigers.
Their farm system would have to be completely emptied to do this, so it will be interesting to see if they are willing to make that sacrifice. They have done it before and should at least be interested, but there is a lot to consider about a potential trade and how it would affect the future.
Padres Trade Pitch Lands Tarik Skubal for Haul of Prospects