Tigers Expected to Move Tarik Skubal at the Trade Deadline
In this story:
Many are wondering what the Detroit Tigers would do at the trade deadline. After a late surge in June, the team looked poised for a possible playoff push.
However, the Tigers have lost four of their last five games, including a heartbreaking 10-9 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. After a tremendous start from Tarik Skubal, the bullpen surrendered the lead and pushed Detroit to seven games below .500
Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Tigers are now expected to trade Skubal before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
"Yeah, Tarik Skubal is going to be traded," Passan said on Sportscenter. "The Tigers haven't gone to teams that are interested and said as much at this point, but the expectation is that's going to happen within the next day or two."
Who Are the Leading Suitors for Skubal?
Passan noted that the biggest threats are the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the Dodgers are the emerging favorite. It seems likely that the Tigers would trade Skubal to a National League team.
The Brewers would form the league's best pitching duo in Skubal and Jacob Misiorowski. Milwaukee has six players in MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects: Jesus Made (1), Luis Pena (18), Cooper Pratt (52), Luis Lara (65), Jett Williams (77), and Josh Adamczewski (88).
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported a couple of weeks ago that Detroit would be seeking a controllable starting pitcher. One of those pitchers could be Brandon Sproat or Logan Henderson.
LA has nine players in the Top 100 rankings. Emmet Sheehan could meet the Tigers' price for a young starting pitcher, and the Dodgers may make the best offer to Detroit.
Are the Tigers Making the Right Decision?
The Skubal trade rumors dated back to the offseason following a contract dispute. It's not surprising that the front office will come to this decision.
There was a window for the Tigers to win games and convince ownership this was a playoff team, but that window is closing fast. Detroit is six games back in the American League Central and is 4.5 games back of a wild-card spot.
A playoff push could still be in the cards without Skubal, but the late-innings woes are making that difficult. Skubal is a Tigers legend, and this will be a tough goodbye, but this was the right decision to make.
Detroit will get a lucrative offer for their superstar ace, and he'll earn a chance to compete for a World Series title. Next, the Tigers must decide whether to have a full-on fire sale at the deadline or to only trade Skubal.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Zion Trammell graduated from TCU in 2023 with a degree in sports broadcasting and journalism. He currently writes for TCU Horned Frogs on SI. In addition to writing, he is the play-by-play voice for Southlake Carroll baseball and hosts a TCU show on the Bleav Network. X: @zion_trammell