Why Tarik Skubal Trade Is Key to Unlocking Mets' World Series Push amid MLB Rumors

Following a historic collapse in 2025 that saw the New York Mets go from the best team in baseball in June to out of the playoffs by October, the team is expected to address the starting rotation, which was at least partially responsible for its shortcomings this past season.

ESPN's Buster Olney reported that the team could be one of several to go after AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal in a trade with the Detroit Tigers.

He wrote:

"The Mets, of course, have an acute need for an ace to lead their rotation -- a need borne out through their late-season collapse -- and they have the sort of major-league-ready young talent that the Tigers will want, like Jonah Tong."

It is a move the Mets should absolutely make.

The Detroit ace has been, arguably, the best pitcher in baseball over the last two seasons. He was the American League Cy Young winner in 2024 and will likely win again for a 2025 campaign that saw him pitch in 195.1 innings, strike out 240, allow just 18 home runs, and finish the season with a 2.21 ERA.

He is elite, and in his playoff appearances against Cleveland in the Wildcard round, he proved he can pitch, dominantly, on little rest.

He is exactly what the Mets were missing this past season, when David Peterson started off hot and made the All-Star team before trailing off and ending up as a liability by the end of the year.

Sean Manaea, so good for them a season ago, fought injury all year and never had the stuff that he did in 2024 when he finally did take the mound.

Clay Holmes was a mixed bag in his first season as a starter, and it was not until the young trio of Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Tong that the starting rotation looked stout.

All three veterans are under contract and expected back for the 2026 season and the mix of young talent has some feeling positive about the future of the team's rotation, but fans would feel even more confident if the front office pulled the proverbial trigger on a trade and acquired Skubal.

If that means giving up Tong and some other prospects, or one of its young stars in Brett Baty or Mark Vientos, so be it, although the former is a strong defensive presence at third base and came into his own in 2025, while the latter struggled.

Some will accuse the team of mortgaging the future for the present but Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Brandon, Nimmo and Co. are in their primes and that needs to be taken into consideration based on the money that is already wrapped up in them.

The Mets' starting pitching accumulated a team ERA of 4.13 and ranked 18th in the majors. That has to improve for New York to bring the Commissioner's Trophy back to Queens for the first time since Bobby Ojeda, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, and Dwight Gooden helped the team to 108 wins and the 1986 World Series title.

Skubal brings stability and does not put pressure on the others in the rotation to be the ace that they are not at this point in their careers, and can shut down even the most talented hitters. Considering the lineups in the division, that is exactly what the team needs to realie its fullest potential and bring the pennant, and the championship, back.