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Tigers Baseball Report

Tigers Tarik Skubal Speaks on Whether They Should Be Buyers or Sellers at Deadline

Detroit's season might not be as lost as it once looked.
Maddy Dickens|
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) walks off the field after pitching against Athletics during the fifth inning at Comerica Park
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) walks off the field after pitching against Athletics during the fifth inning at Comerica Park | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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Detroit Tigers

It is merely days away from being the All-Star break, even though it feels like just yesterday that the first pitch of Opening Day was being tossed from the hill. With the break comes another looming event, the trade deadline.

Now, everyone is speculating as to whether teams will either buy or sell, meaning will they get rid of their superstars for a haul of players, or not, and for most of the season, the Detroit Tigers were definitely deemed as sellers.

But things have started to change for them, and with the dumpster fire that is the American League, they are not technically out of playoff contention, and the team's most prized possession, Tarik Skubal, does not want to be playing for another ballclub when August comes around.

Tarik Skubal throws a baseball in a white Tigers jerse
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) pitches in the second inning against the Athletics at Comerica Park. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Based on what the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner had to say on a local radio show in Detroit, it is clear that he wants the Tigers to be buyers when the deadline comes around:

“We had some unlucky losses, beat ourselves up a bit, some injury stuff, including myself. Hopefully the decision-makers see that we’re a very good team and it’s not sell at the deadline — it’s add … I think we’re a really good team, and there are so many guys in this room that have proven that we can go on a run as we did in ’24."

Tigers Battling Back Into Playoff Contention

Dillon Dingler high fives Jacob in a white Tigers jerse
Detroit Tigers pitcher Jacob Waguespack (58) shakes hands with catcher Dillon Dingler (13) to celebrate 6-2 win | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

After a brutal May where Detroit only won six games, the Tigers have now flipped the script with five in a row and eight of their last 10 being marked down as victories. The offense is boasting as one of the best in baseball, and the starting rotation is as elite as anybody's.

At this point, the Tigers need a lot of help in the bullpen, as they still lead the league in blown leads, and walk-off homers have been something of a nightmare for this team. So, go buy some at the trade deadline and see where the chips fall.

Ultimately, Skubal has a case for what he is saying. He has always been adamant about staying with this organization, and they have clawed their way back into playoff contention.

Going into the final series before the break, Detroit sits a measly 3.5 games out of a wild card birth and 4.5 out of first in the AL Central. It would be a miracle, but they are inching closer, so buying is the only option to keep this season alive.

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Maddy Dickens
MADDY DICKENS

Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.