Report: Tarik Skubal Trade ‘Likely’ As Tigers Consider Trading Ace

Detroit seems likely to move the two-time AL Cy Young winner before he hits free agency next offseason.

The Detroit Tigers now seem likely to trade ace Tarik Skubal before he hits free agency after the 2026 season. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tigers might be poised to do what was once unthinkable.

On Thursday, ESPN’s Jorge Castillo discussed the two-time reigning American League Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal, in a piece recapping the winter meetings. He said the most interesting thing he heard this week was that a Skubal trade is now likely.

That a Tarik Skubal trade is likely. Here's what we know: Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris can shut down speculation by simply saying he is not trading Skubal and he has not done that. Instead, he noted this week that there aren't any "untouchables" on his roster. Trading the best pitcher in baseball when you're trying to compete would upset the fan base, but the Tigers, knowing re-signing Skubal next winter is unlikely, appear open to it.

That is quite a bombshell, but not entirely unexpected.

Skubal will almost certainly garner the biggest contract ever given to a pitcher—not including two-way star Shohei Ohtani. Yoshinobu Yamamoto currently has the biggest contract of any MLB pitcher, clocking in at $325 million over 12 years. Skubal should blow that number away and is likely to have an average annual value in the $40 million range. It’s unlikely the Tigers would be able to shell out the $400-plus million it might take to lock him down, so the team is smart to consider moving him while it still can.

He has been MLB’s most dominant presence on the mound over the past two seasons, and all 30 teams would want him. Starting a bidding war for his services is a no-brainer at this point.

In 2025, Skubal turned in what was easily his best season. He went 13-6 with a 2.21 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, and 241 strikeouts against 33 walks in 195 1/3 innings. His 6.6 fWAR led all MLB pitchers, while he was second in FIP (2.45) and xERA (2.72).

That improved on an equally remarkable 2024 campaign in which he went 18-4, with a 2.39 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, and 228 strikeouts against 35 walks in 192 innings.

At 29 years old, Skubal has plenty of his prime years left and seems be getting better.

If Skubal was going to move, the Dodgers would, of course, be in the mix. L.A.’s farm system could easily provide the prospects to satisfy the return Detroit would be looking for, and the Dodgers could also move a piece from their deep MLB rotation to help the Tigers. Tyler Glasnow’s name was tossed around at the winter meetings, and he’d be a fit atop Detroit’s rotation.

Other teams that would make sense are the Mets, Astros, and Red Sox, and no one should ever count the Padres out as long as A.J. Preller is still manning the ship. The Orioles appear to be all-in and have a ton of young players, so they could also be a player.

Trading Skubal would be painful for the Tigers, but they are likely to lose him in free agency next offseason, and the haul he’d bring back could set the franchise up for success long term.

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