Latest Red Sox, Tarik Skubal Trade Rumor Makes No Sense

The Boston Red Sox have one of the best overall starting rotations in baseball, despite all of the injuries that have impacted the organization.

Right now, both Garrett Crochet and Connelly Early are on the Injured List and Brayan Bello is down in Triple-A after being demoted. On top of these guys, Johan Oviedo, Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval are all on the Injured List as well.

Still, the Red Sox's rotation is very good. We should see Sandoval in the mix in the very near future and while Boston is still waiting for answers on Early, but there was a bit of hope for the 24-year-old on Wednesday. Early landed on the Injured List with left elbow inflammation, but Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy shared that he was feeling a little better already and that he didn't want to be placed on the Injured List in the first place. Boston's rotation is good enough to the point that it doesn't really need to add another weapon.

The Red Sox Aren't Out Of It, But That Doesn't Mean They Should Pursue Tarik Skubal

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws during spring training at Tigertown in Lakeland, Fla. on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The conversation around Boston has shifted a bit, thanks to the club's five-game winning streak, despite the fact that it was snapped on Tuesday. The Red Sox looked very good for just about a week and the speculation about a fire sale has started to slow down a bit. The chatter has arguably swung a bit too far in the other direction, though. On Wednesday, Jon Heyman of The New York Post shared a column in which he discussed various potential landing spots for Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. Surprisingly, the Red Sox are one of the teams that Heyman listed among the possibilities for the two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner.

This is absolutely not something the Red Sox should do, though. If the Red Sox can find a way to claw themselves back into playoff contention to the point that they add this summer before the trade deadline, Boston doesn't need an expensive rental pitcher. The rotation is already very good and will just get better when they start to get guys back into the mix in the majors.

This isn't to say that Skubal isn't an incredible player. He is. But to get him, the Red Sox would likely have to package together a few top prospects in order to just get a few months from the lefty in Boston before he would enter free agency looking for a historic deal. If the Red Sox add — which is a very big if — an expensive starter isn't the answer.

Boston desperately needs more offense. Having an elite rotation is great. But if you can't score one more run than your opponent, it doesn't matter if you only give up a couple of runs. Boston already is great at preventing runs. It needs to get better at scoring them now. Giving up top prospects for a few months of Skubal would simply be a mistake.

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