New Tarik Skubal Trade Rumors Update Potential Landing Spots Ahead of 2026 MLB Deadline

With the All-Star Game now in the past, the Aug. 3 trade deadline is the next big date on the MLB calendar, and Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal could be a figure of increasing speculation.

The New York Post's Jon Heyman (via MLB.com) reported Tuesday the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay Rays could enter the mix for the two-time reigning Cy Young winner.

Heyman also called the Los Angeles Dodgers a "wild card."

There's no certainty over whether the Tigers will trade Skubal, though, their position in the standings points to one outcome. Detroit is third in the American League Central at 44-52. It's 3.5 games back of the final wild card spot, and FanGraphs gives the team a 27.3 percent chance of reaching the postseason.

Skubal missed time due to an elbow injury, and his numbers aren't quite where they were in recent years. Through 13 starts, he's 5-5 with a 3.09 ERA and a 3.06 FIP while averaging 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

Still, the southpaw is by far the best pitcher possibly on the trade market, and the Tigers will be able to flip him for a strong return regardless of his impending free agency.

For one executive, the choice is clear.

"They have to trade him," the exec said to Heyman. "They're not going to win the World Series. Teams would be lining up for him. What are they going to do, let him walk out the door?"

The Rays would be a fascinating landing spot because there's almost no reality in which Tampa Bay pays Skubal's asking price on the open market.

But USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported the AL leaders "plan to be aggressive buyers at the deadline." Beyond Skubal, the longtime insider linked Tampa Bay with a pair of decorated second basemen: the Arizona Cardinals' Ketel Marte and San Francisco Giants' Luis Arraez.

Acquiring Skubal would run counter to how the Rays have operated, but ownership and the front office may sense a golden opportunity with the AL as a whole looking pretty weak.