Projecting What a Yankees-Tarik Skubal Trade Could Look Like

The Tigers might deal Tarik Skubal before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. And if that's the case, the Yankees could find themselves in the mix.

Apr 29, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws against the Atlanta Braves in the second inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

How much is too much when it comes to trading for the two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner? That's what clubs have to decide when it comes to Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal.

The 29-year-old is recovering from elbow surgery and could be back on the mound as early as next month. Skubal will be a free agent following the 2026 season, and that is muddying the trade waters. Think about Juan Soto's one-and-done year with the Yankees before he bolted for the crosstown Mets.

As for Skubal, here's where the market stands, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

Rival executives believe the bidding will come down to four finalists that not only can afford the remainder of his $32 million contract, but will also be willing to give up prized prospects: The Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale on Skubal

Meanwhile, ESPN's Buster Olney added his commentary on Skubal and what the Tigers could do to help themselves.

If the Tigers decide to trade Skubal, they could get more prospect return if they signal the willingness to absorb most/all of his salary for the last two months, about $11 million, Olney said on Twitter/X on Tuesday. Which would make sense: They've already budgeted to pay his salary this year. And if they do that, more teams could be involved in the bidding.

As it involves the Yankees, one wonders what it would take or what they would have to give up for the star pitcher.

What would it cost to acquire Tarik Skubal at trade deadline?

FanSided's Robert Murray talked to several MLB executives to gauge the Skubal trade market. The executives gave a wide range of answers about what it would take to acquire the star pitcher.

• “If I had to answer, I’d say one top-100 prospect plus a top-15 and one more throw in.”

• "My guess is a couple of top 10 prospects for a couple months of him.”

• “It’s so difficult to tell but I think it would start at one top-50 and another top-100 prospect. If it was a top-10 prospect in the game maybe it could be that plus a fringe top-100 guy also (plus probably 1-2 throw-in types. In scouting terms we would say probably two ‘B1’ Grade prospects as a start and then a couple ‘C’ grades also.”

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) walks off the field for pitching change during the seventh inning against Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday, April 23, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

So Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has to decide which top prospects -- if any -- he's willing to part with to rent Skubal for the stretch run. It's been 17 years since New York last won the World Series, so it's possible Cashman might be willing to overpay to end the championship slump.

Which Yankees prospects are trade bait?

MLB Pipeline's 2026 ranking of the Yankees' farm system has the club's top prospect, infielder George Lombard Jr., as the No. 21 prospect overall, so let's take him off the board.

"Lombard is now in Triple-A at the age of most college juniors and would be one of the top couple of picks in the draft if eligible," ESPN's Kiley McDaniel writes. "He has improved his contact rate this season and has the tools for 20 homers from a strong defender at shortstop with enough contact to make it all work."

The Yankees already gave a cup of coffee to outfielder Spencer Jones, who's the team's sixth-ranked prospect. He could be in the mix for a starting job next year if the club parts with Trent Grisham, so we will take him off the board, too.

The rest of the Yankees' top 10 is made up of pitchers, aside from shortstop Dax Kilby, who's in Single-A and at least a couple of years from being ready for the big leagues.

Right-hander Elmer Rodriguez is New York's No. 2 prospect and made his big-league debut last month. Fellow right-hander Carlos Lagrange is generating buzz as well and could be in line for a call up to the majors.

Everyone else in the Yankees' top 10 hasn't made it past Double-A. Therefore, perhaps a trade involving Kilby, Rodriguez, or Lagrange, plus a lower-ranked prospect, gets Skubal to the Bronx.

Tarik Skubal would give the Yankees five aces in starting rotation

"If all the moons align, Skubal would be a unique deadline trade candidate — in his prime, coming off of back-to-back AL Cy Youngs, enduring an in-season surgery and in his walk year. That is a unicorn trade candidate," Sherman writes.

Will the Yankees be one of those teams to go after this unicorn of a pitcher? After all, when healthy, their starting rotation already features four of the best pitchers in the game: Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Max Fried and Cam Schlittler.

Adding Skubal would create a super-rotation with five aces that would be tough to beat in October. It sounds like a pretty good way to snap the Yankees' World Series slump.