Tigers Reportedly Demanded Massive Haul from Yankees in Tarik Skubal Trade Talk

The Detroit Tigers did not want to send Tarik Skubal to the New York Yankees.

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The Detroit Tigers entered the offseason as one of the focuses of baseball, faced with a seemingly impossible choice when it comes to their superstar ace left-hander.

With just one year left of Tarik Skubal under team control and extension talks leading essentially nowhere to this point, the idea of trading him for a haul now rather than losing him for nothing a year from now makes a lot of sense.

For as painful as it would be to willingly send Skubal to play in a different uniform, it would be just as painful to lose him in free agency after turning down a massive return via the trade market. It seems Detroit is very content to keep him and try to win in 2026 though then let the chips fall as they may from there.

The latest report in what has been a long line of them all offseason long with regards to Skubal trade discussions, it sounds like Scott Harris essentially slammed the door in the face of one of the most hated rivals in the New York Yankees.

Heyman Says Tigers Demanded Massive Haul from Yankees

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During a recent article talking about New York's pitching situation, prominent baseball insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post (subscription required) wrote that Brian Cashman and the front office had interest in Skubal.

As Heyman put it though, the Yankees "checked in" with Detroit on the southpaw, only to get the impression from Scott Harris and company that it would take "half the team" in order to send him to the Bronx.

Clearly, the Tigers have not been actively shopping their ace around, though they have of course been listening to offers. If Heyman is accurate, it certainly sounds like Detroit would be content keeping him and have no intention of trading him for pennies on the dollar.

Tigers Clearly Have Little Desire to Trade Skubal Barring Massive Offer

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Detroit entered the offseason expected to potentially shop Skubal around, but this never necessarily meant they wanted to trade him away rather than just considering the possibility if the right offer came along.

Needless to say, there are few teams which would be more painful to see Skubal pitching for than the Yankees, so perhaps they demanded more from them than any other team who inquired. Clearly, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been involved as well, however they simply have not been able to meet demands either.

While there's a ton of offseason left, the good news here seems to be that if the Tigers do in fact do the unthinkable and trade away Skubal, it is clearly not going to be for an underwhelming return. Whether or not a team still tries to pull off the deal remains to be seen, but Detroit is not budging in their demands.

When it comes to the services of the best pitcher on the planet, the Tigers are well within their rights to negotiate exactly the way they have been so far.