Yankees Don't Have Right Prospects For Tarik Skubal Trade

It's no secret the Tigers are considering trading ace Tarik Skubal, who's recovering from elbow surgery.

It's also no secret that the Yankees have been identified as a potential suitor for the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner. The 29-year-old southpaw— who was 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings across seven starts before hitting the injured list earlier this month—would help put New York's already-stellar rotation over the top.

The problem is, the Yankees don't match up well in a potential deal with the Tigers.

"They have young arms to dangle and maybe their best championship chance in years, although their rotation need seems low now," the New York Post's Jon Heyman reports.

Yankees don't have the right trade chips to land Skubal

However, in The Athletic's updated ranking of the top 50 MLB prospects, the Yankees have just one player: infielder George Lombard, Jr. And he's not going anywhere.

"Of course, general manager Brian Cashman will be monitoring the Skubal trade talks like he always does," The Athletic's Jim Bowden reports. "However, if Max Fried’s elbow injury really is just a contusion and he comes back healthy, then with a rotation of Fried, the emerging Cam Schlittler, the return of both Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón and the further development of Will Warren and Ryan Weathers, there really isn’t a need to trade their top prospects to land Skubal. They’re not going to offer Carlos Lagrange or George Lombard Jr. for a rental."

Tarik Skubal pitching. — As tempting as a Tarik Skubal trade might be, the Yankees won't want to mortgage their future for the sake of a deal. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As a result, Bowden ranks the Yankees fourth on the list of teams most likely to trade for Skubal, who will be a free agent after the season. The clubhouse leader? You guessed it: the Dodgers.

"Of course, they’re going to be in on Skubal," Bowden notes. "Just imagine an October rotation of Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. Yikes! They certainly have enough to trade as well, as they could offer either Justin Wrobleski or Emmet Sheehan off their major-league roster and one of their top outfield prospects, such as Zyhir Hope, Josue De Paula or Eduardo Quintero."

"It’s unfair, but they have more top-100 prospects than anyone (seven)," Heyman reports about the two-time defending World Series champions. Still, he lists the Dodgers in third, behind the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, with the Yankees again in fourth place.

Skubal trade market shaping up

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand talked to several league executives to gauge the Skubal trade market.

"One AL executive believes 'there’s a chance [the Tigers will trade Skubal this summer], but I don’t think it’s probable.'"

“They are sending him somewhere,” the exec said. “No doubt about it.”

"Spitting distance of the Wild Card"

As of Friday, the Tigers are tied for last place in the American League Wild Card standings, six games back of the final spot. The Yankees have a 6.5-game lead over the third wild card.

“Any club who finds themselves out of the postseason picture while carrying a star player on an expiring contract has to consider moving that player at the deadline,” an NL executive said to Feinsand. “That said, no one should count out Detroit yet. We’re only one-third of the way through the season; there’s a lot of baseball yet to be played.”

“If they’re way back, I think they will trade him,” an AL executive said to Feinsand. “However, given the state of the AL, it seems like they’ll be within spitting distance of the Wild Card.”

Should the Tigers decide to deal Skubal before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, expect to read more rumors linking the Yankees as a possible suitor. However, with the depth of their starting rotation and their lack of top-ranked pitching prospects down on the farm, don't look for Skubal to be wearing pinstripes for the stretch run.

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