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Cooking Up Tarik Skubal Trade Package Amid Tigers' Collapse
The Detroit Tigers lost Tarik Skubal to the injured list in early May, so it's not a coincidence that trade rumors are picking up as they spiral toward irrelevance.
Losses in 17 out of 20 have sent Detroit careening into last place in the AL Central at 21-34. The only good news is that Skubal is progressing better than expected from surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow, meaning he could be back sometime before the August 3 trade deadline.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the clash of these two realities means the chances of the two-time Cy Young Award winner getting traded are "rising." Skubal's looming free agency is certainly a factor, as the potential risk for the Tigers of not trading him involves losing him for nothing anyway.
As for what renting Skubal could cost a team, that could depend on whether the Tigers are willing to pay down any of his $32 million salary. Either way, the most conservative estimate that FanSided's Robert Murray got out of a survey of executives was "one top-50 and another top-100 prospect."
Clearly, only World Series contenders are going to be in this market. So after touching on some honorable mentions, let's look at five and what they could offer.
Note: Farm system and prospect rankings are according to B/R's Joel Reuter.
Honorable Mentions
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Chicago Cubs
A combination of injuries and poor performances has quickly turned the Cubs' rotation into a real problem. It's produced -0.9 rWAR, worst of any team outside of the San Francisco Giants.
It's too bad the Cubs don't line up with what the Tigers would need to move Skubal. They have all of one top-100 prospect in their 25th-ranked farm system.
Milwaukee Brewers
Skubal and Jacob Misiorowski together in the same rotation? Now we're talking, and the idea should appeal to a Brewers franchise that has never won the World Series.
Yet even if the Brewers have plenty for the Tigers in their second-ranked system, a trade like this is pretty far outside their comfort zone. They generally prefer to bet small and win big.
Philadelphia Phillies
There's only so much the Phillies can do to fix their sagging offense, so leaning into their starting pitching might be their best play. Having to face Skubal, Cristopher Sรกnchez and Zack Wheeler in a playoff series would be a nightmare for opposing teams.
The Phillies only have two top-100 prospects left, though. The idea of them giving up both to go all-in on a lopsided team feels like a reach.ย
San Diego Padres
If you hear it from Bob Nightengale of USA Today, he'll tell you that the Padres are one of four teams that are likely to be in on Skubal.
But how? This is the No. 29 farm system in MLB, and its only top-100 talent (Ethan Salas) is still fresh off spending a couple years in prospect limbo.
5. Seattle Mariners
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Record: 27-29
Why They Need Tarik Skubal
There was some buzz during the winter about the Mariners possibly making a play for Skubal, and the logic of them doing so hasn't really changed. They don't truly need him, but he's probably the best player they can feasibly acquire.
The problem the Mariners have right now is that their rotation is more than full. But lurking underneath that is a secondary debate of who would start Game 1 for them in a playoff series. Adding Skubal would clear that right up.
Ultimately, here's the pitch: If Seattle gets Skubal and the offense gets healthy, 50 years of unfulfilled World Series fantasies could finally come true.
Trade Proposal: Seattle Mariners get LHP Tarik Skubal; Detroit Tigers get RHP Luis Castillo, RHP Ryan Sloan (Mariners No. 4), C Luke Stevenson (Mariners No. 7)
Involving Castillo would serve dual purposes. He's owed $24.15 million this year and next, so sending him to Detroit would help balance the money. It would also prevent a crowded Mariners rotation from getting even more crowded.
Though Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has earned his "Trader Jerry" nickname, the prospects he prefers to trade are far from the big leagues and still have questions to answer. Sloan and Stevenson are in that boat.
As far as Detroit could be concerned, Sloan has better stuff and command than the average 20-year-old, while Stevenson's power and defensive chops would make him untouchable for any organization that doesn't already have a Cal Raleigh.
4. Atlanta Braves
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Record: 37-18
Why They Need Tarik Skubal
The Braves have the best record in MLB largely because of their starting pitching, which ranks second in the league with an output of 6.4 rWAR.
But if ever there was fool's gold in the form of a number, there it is. Chris Sale is the only starter the Braves have who hitters have to worry about, and he's 37 years old. Otherwise, it's a group of pretenders (sorry, Bryce Elder) and guys who aren't what they used to be (sorry, Spencer Strider).
The Braves have enough offense and a good enough bullpen to get away with something short of a full-on revamp of their rotation. But at the least, it does need another top-of-the-rotation arm.
Trade Proposal: Atlanta Braves get LHP Tarik Skubal; Detroit Tigers get LHP Cam Caminitiย (Braves No. 1), RHP JR Ritchie (Braves No. 2)
Pretty uncomplicated, right? Caminiti and Ritchie are the two best prospects Atlanta has, and each just misses out on being top-50 material. Caminiti ranks at No. 51, with Ritchie at No. 55.
Neither is a sure thing. Ritchie has had control issues in the minors and majors this year. Caminiti is only 19, and saddled with a 5.19 ERA at the High-A level. Put these things together, and you get smooth edges the Tigers would have to shave down.
On one plus side, both are real prospects. On another plus side, this deal wouldn't require Detroit to eat or absorb any money. As with the next three teams on this list, the Braves are unlike the Mariners in that they can afford Skubal as is.
3. Toronto Blue Jays
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Record: 26-29
Why They Need Tarik Skubal
Whereas the Braves truly need another top-of-the-rotation starter, the Blue Jays don't so much need another one of those as they need depth.
Dylan Cease won't be out for long, but such optimism is hard to apply to Josรฉ Berrรญos, Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer. Berrรญos is done for the year, while Bieber and Scherzer are trying to get over bothersome arm issues.
Getting Skubal to shore things up would be overkill, but that's the point. Putting him in front of Cease, Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage would give Toronto a rotation that could point the way back to the World Series in October.
Trade Proposal: Toronto Blue Jays get LHP Tarik Skubal; Detroit Tigers get SS JoJo Parkerย (Blue Jays No. 2), LHP Johnny King (Blue Jays No. 4)
Yesavage is still technically Toronto's No. 1 prospect, but there's no way the Tigers would be able to pry him loose. After him, Parker and Arjun Nimmala are the best prospects the Blue Jays have.
Both are shortstops, and Parker's status as MLB's No. 38 prospect underscores his upside. It's still abstract given that he's only 19 years old and a year removed from the draft, but his mold is that of a bat-first shortstop.
King would be more of a project, albeit one who is also a top-100 prospect (No. 84) and moving with some helium. He's pitched 27.2 innings at High-A and allowed 18 hits next to 39 strikeouts.
2. New York Yankees
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Record: 33-22
Why They Need Tarik Skubal
The Yankees have gotten 7.2 rWAR out of their starting pitchers, the most of any team in MLB. But to focus on that is to miss the real points of concern.
Cam Schlittler? Yeah, he rules. But Max Fried is on the injured list, and both Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodรณnย have flashed warning signs since they came off the IL. Rodรณnย has walked 11 batters in 13 innings, while Cole had more walks (three) than strikeouts (two) in his 2026 debut. Both are in their mid-30s.
To acquire Skubal would be an act of leaving nothing to chance. The Yankees could line up him and Schlittler for a postseason run, and then trust that the rest would work out.
Trade Proposal: New York Yankees get LHP Tarik Skubal; Detroit Tigers get SS George Lombard Jr.ย (Yankees No. 1), RHP RHP Carlos Lagrange (Yankees No. 2)
Back in January, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported that the Tigers flat-out told the Yankees they didn't have the chips to trade for Skubal. Ouch.
However, this was before Lombard (No. 13) and Lagrange (No. 65) skyrocketed up prospect rankings. Lombard quickly hit his way from Double-A to Triple-A after the season started, while Lagrange has carried over the velocity (max speed: 103 mph) that made him a spring training sensation.
It's a lot for the Yankees to give up for a couple months of Skubal. But if it paid off in their first World Series title since 2009, nobody would complain.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
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Record: 35-20
Why They Need Tarik Skubal
Whereas their starting pitching barely held up in 2024, it was the reason the Dodgers repeated as World Series champions in 2025.
The bill for that effort has come due in 2026. Shohei Ohtani is chasing the NL Cy Young Award, but Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell are hurt and even Yoshinobu Yamamoto has looked human. Otherwise, Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan have been unreliable.
Trading for Skubal to bring order to the chaos is another overkill situation, but it just feels like something the Dodgers would do. Then there's also the reality that they could because they can.
Trade Proposal: Los Angeles Dodgers get LHP Tarik Skubal; Detroit Tigers get OF Zyhir Hope (Dodgers No. 3), SS Emil Morales (Dodgers No. 4)
Beyond being the center of gravity at the MLB level, the Dodgers also have the league's best farm system. Must be nice.
What's more, all five of their top-100 prospects are actually top-50 prospects. That gives them leeway to beat any offer any other team might make. This hypothetical one of Hope (No. 28) and Morales (No. 32) just happens to be balanced.
They project as power hitters in the outfield and on the infield, respectively. That should appeal to the Tigers, who have largely struggled to hit for power ever since Miguel Cabrera aged out of his prime in the mid-2010s.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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