MLB Insider Floats Phillies as Tarik Skubal Landing Spot at 2026 MLB Trade Deadline in New Video

As Tarik Skubal works his way back from elbow surgery and the Detroit Tigers determine their best path forward amid a hugely disappointing season so far, another potential landing spot for the two-time AL Cy Young winner has popped up.

On the latest episode of the Foul Territory podcast, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal said he would not "rule out" the Philadelphia Phillies trying to make a run at Skubal before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

It's certainly in keeping with the way that Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has operated throughout his career to pursue the biggest fish in the sea to upgrade his roster.

The first big question that every team interested in Skubal, who had elbow surgery in early May to remove a loose body, needs answered is about the state of his elbow and effectiveness on the mound. He threw a four-inning simulated game on Monday and could make a rehab start in Triple-A later in the week.

Assuming all continues to go well on the mound for Skubal, the next step is for the Tigers to waive the white flag and trade their best pitcher for a package of prospects that can get them back into contention soon. It would seem like that will be their direction, as they are tied with the Los Angeles Angels for the worst record in the AL (23-38) and 6.5 games out of a playoff spot.

As far as the Phillies' potential interest goes, there figures to be a long line of interested suitors for Skubal that will ignite a significant bidding war.

Rosenthal has cited the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays as teams that would at least explore the possibility of acquiring Skubal.

Another issue for the Phillies is a lack of impact prospect talent in their system. Aidan Miller entered this season as a candidate to make his big-league debut at some point in 2026, but a lingering back injury has prevented him from appearing in a game.

Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly told reporters on Sunday that Miller had stopped doing any baseball activities and he was only rehabbing his back right now.

Gage Wood, the Phillies' first-round pick in 2025, was their only other top-100 prospect by MLB.com entering this season. Andrew Painter was at one point a highly-regarded prospect, but his first exposure to the big leagues has not gone well with a 5.74 ERA in 11 appearances.

The Phillies have turned things around after an 9-19 start that led to Rob Thomson being fired. They are 21-10 in 31 games with Mattingly in the interim chair and 1.5 games out of a wild card spot.

Even though the ability to make a trade for Skubal would require some clever maneuvering from Dombrowski, the possibility of the Phillies running out a rotation in the playoffs with Skubal, Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez in the top three spots would be a nightmare for opposing teams.

Prior to being placed on the IL due to his elbow injury, Skubal had a 2.70 ERA and 45 strikeouts over 43.1 innings in seven starts.