Tier Rankings For a Tigers Tarik Skubal Trade to Every MLB Team Amid Latest Rumors

It's now or never if the Detroit Tigers are going to trade Tarik Skubal. If he's still a Tiger at 6:01 p.m. ET on Monday, then all the rumors are going to shut down.

As such, now's the time for one last check-in on where every team in MLB stands as part of his trade market.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, rival executives all say the same thing about Detroit's current position: "The Tigers want to trade Tarik Skubal, but can they?" They are technically still in playoff contention even at 50-57. And then there's the matter of whether they can get a good offer for the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner, who will be a free agent this winter.

Well, that's for them to find out. All we can do is place all 29 of Skubal's hypothetical trade suitors into tiers that capture where they fit in all this.

And yes, we have ranked his best fits from No. 29 all the way down to No. 1.

Note: Farm system ranks are according to B/R's Joel Reuter.

In Your Dreams

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Kurt Suzuki and Walbert Ureña

29. Colorado Rockies (42-66)

Alright, here's the scheme. The Rockies trade Hunter Goodman for Tarik Skubal. Skubal then struggles mightily at Coors Field. The Rockies then re-sign him at a discounted rate in free agency, and proceed to build a winner around him.

Well, hot dang. We almost talked ourselves into it… almost.

28. Los Angeles Angels (42-66)

Maybe there's a scenario in which Angels owner Arte Moreno has flashbacks to the Zack Greinke trade in 2012, and then fully loses the plot and demands that John Mozeliak go get Skubal.

Fat chance even in that scenario, though. The Angels would have almost nothing to offer Detroit from MLB's No. 29 farm system.

27. Athletics (45-62)

If this was about blindly assessing needs, then the A's need Skubal like Odysseus and his crew needed a map and more favorable winds. Their rotation's ERA is 5.23, the worst in the American League.

But, alas. Maybe this pairing will make more sense in 2028, when the A's break free from Sacramento and officially make camp in Las Vegas.

26. Kansas City Royals (45-63)

Starting pitching was meant to carry the Royals, so it's pretty shocking to see their rotation with an ERA as high as 4.59. And if they were to fix that with a Skubal trade, maybe they could make up the 6.0-game gap between them and the Tigers.

As for the 11.0-game gap between the Royals and the top of the AL Central, well, even Skubal doesn't have that kind of juice.

It's Too Late, Guys

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Andy Green

25. Cincinnati Reds (50-55)

Honestly? Skubal alongside Chase Burns, Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott and Brady Singer sounds like a sick rotation. The Reds could really do some damage in the final two months of 2026 with that lot.

But then again, trading for guys like Skubal is not their style. They're also 16.5 games out in the NL Central, so…

24. San Francisco Giants (45-62)

Now, the Giants. There's a team that you could see trading for Skubal under other circumstances. If Buster Posey has made anything clear in the first two years of his tenure running the front office, it's that he loves his big names.

He just might want to hold off on this one, though. As amazing as it sounds, the Giants are further out of first place than even the Reds.

23. New York Mets (45-62)

The Mets are here because there's just no way this is going to happen. But they're also not lower because one can at least have the following galaxy-brain idea: Trade for Skubal and then extend him before he can hit the market.

If it doesn't happen, it won't be because Steve Cohen can't afford it.

22. Toronto Blue Jays (49-59)

Well, is it too late, though? Being 10 games under .500 and 14.0 games out of first place are insurmountable obstacles for most teams, but maybe not the Blue Jays? Weren't they the American League champs just last year?

It's hard not to gesture at such hope for Toronto. But when all you can do is gesture at hope, it's not really there.

Right Idea, Wrong Target

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Paul Skenes

21. Seattle Mariners (53-55)

The Mariners darn well should be thinking about taking a big swing at the trade deadline. They were supposed to be World Series contenders in 2026, but it turns out that they forgot to pack a functional offense for the trip.

But the rotation? Yeah, it's just dandy. Maybe it would be better with Skubal, but the time to find that out was last winter, not now.

20. Cleveland Guardians (55-54)

The Guardians are also built upon pitching, but one difference between them and the Mariners is that Cleveland's rotation doesn't go as deep. Another is that the Guardians are only 1.5 games out of first in the AL Central.

As bad as Seattle's offense has been, however, the Guardians have somehow scored fewer runs and hit fewer home runs. Fixing that mark of shame must be a priority.

19. Pittsburgh Pirates (55-53)

Skubal and Paul Skenes, together in Pittsburgh? Sounds like a hot ticket, and the Bucs have enough in their seventh-ranked farm system to have honest barter sessions with the Tigers.

But since Pittsburgh doesn't really need an ace, a Skubal trade would require putting a lot of energy into a side project. A better idea is to put an appropriate amount of energy into upgrading a bullpen that ranks 24th in ERA.

18. Miami Marlins (54-54)

Hey, at least the 12-game losing streak is over. The question now is how the Marlins can fully revive their playoff chances. And on paper, getting Skubal to be the No. 1 that Miami's rotation doesn't really have is an inspired idea.

Or, the Marlins could seek out a power bat or two. They've needed at least one more of those for what feels like most of their existence at this point.

Now Is Not the Right Time

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Will Venable and Sean Newcomb

17. St. Louis Cardinals (53-54)

The Cardinals have made it this far without a true ace in their rotation. So if they got one and continued to have Jordan Walker and JJ Wetherholt carry their offense, that's where their playoff dreams might actually drift into reality.

But do they really want to take a big chunk out of their 11th-ranked farm system just when Chaim Bloom is starting to spruce the place up? Probably not.

16. Washington Nationals (55-53)

The Nationals are over .500 even though their pitchers have allowed the third-most runs in MLB. Having the league's best offense can have that kind of balancing effect, and the Nationals are notably closer to first place in the NL East (8.0 GB) than the Cardinals are in the NL Central (14.0 GB).

As with Bloom in St. Louis, Paul Toboni is only now starting to put a strong base of prospects underneath the Nationals. It would be a shame if he demolished it so soon.

15. Chicago White Sox (55-51)

Behold, the best possible "Throw caution to the wind and go for it!" landing spot for Skubal. The White Sox are in first place even despite a middling starting rotation, so adding Skubal could do more than merely secure the AL Central title.

Yet this is, of course, hopefully just Year 1 of a long reign as contenders. The White Sox should want to hold their best prospects, not send them to an AL Central rival that doesn't figure to be down for long.

Might Be Worth a Season-Saving Shot

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Joe Ryan

14. Baltimore Orioles (52-56)

The Orioles aren't totally unwilling to make a big bet on a pending free agent. Mike Elias did so with Corbin Burnes just two years ago, and he seems to have forgotten the lesson he learned: it's good to have an ace.

On paper, Skubal is the ace Baltimore's current rotation badly needs. And in reality, he could indeed help them close what's only a 2.5-game deficit for the AL's third wild-card spot.

13. San Diego Padres (54-53)

Only three teams have gotten less rWAR from their starting pitchers than the Padres, so it's a small miracle that they're a gamee over .500. And while the NL West lead is far out of reach, a wild-card spot is only 1.5 games away.

But how would a trade work, exactly? The Padres' best trade chip apart from Mason Miller is probably catching prospect Ethan Salas, and he's not particularly ideal for the Tigers. Dillon Dingler already has them leading catchers in rWAR.

12. Minnesota Twins (54-54)

As things stand now, the Twins are only 0.5 games out of a playoff spot despite a rotation with a 4.42 ERA. At the least, they shouldn't sell. At best, they darn well should aim for Skubal with the hope that he and Joe Ryan could cook in October.

It's fantasy, alright. But since Minnesota has the No. 4 farm system in MLB and a fanbase to win back after last year's deadline fire sale, at least it's an interesting one.

11. Houston Astros (54-55)

The Astros have the worst farm system in baseball, so how they would pull off a trade for Skubal is the big question here. But maybe there's a way where there's a will, and the will should be there.

The Astros aren't in possession of a playoff spot yet, but a 21-14 run since June 16 is at least changing the vibe in Space City. And if they did get Skubal, he'd join forces with Yordan Alvarez to form the best pitcher-batter pairing this side of Shohei Ohtani.

Actually Fun if They Went for It

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Jacob deGrom

10. Arizona Diamondbacks (56-52)

The Diamondbacks are doing that thing where they're just hanging around. They know from 2023 that it is possible to get a World Series berth out of a season like that, so they aren't out of their minds if they're planning something big.

To this end, a trade for Skubal would suit their needs nicely. Eduardo Rodriguez has carried the rotation this far, but he'll need help if the team is going to go any further.

9. Texas Rangers (55-52)

The Rangers need another bat or a high-leverage arm more than they need another starter. In fact, they can feel perfectly comfortable with Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi leading a playoff rotation.

Or, they could double down on starting pitching anyway. They did it in 2023 when they acquired Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery at the trade deadline, and we all know how that panned out.

8. Boston Red Sox (55-51)

The Red Sox still needed another bat even before Curtis Mead broke his wrist in his first game with the team on Monday. Their rotation looks like much less of a need, as it ranks in the top 10 in the league with a 3.93 ERA.

But then again, the Red Sox did lose Connelly Early in the Mead trade… and they don't know for certain that Garrett Crochet is going to be back from a shoulder injury this year. So, maybe there is room for an ace lefty in Boston.

More of a Nice-to-Have

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Cam Schlittler

7. Philadelphia Phillies (57-51)

Jeff Passan casually dropped the Phillies as a potential player for Skubal in the video referenced way back in the intro. It seems unlikely, as Dave Dombrowski should be squarely focused on right-handed hitters and leverage relievers.

Dombrowski does like his blockbuster trades, though, and one for Skubal is as big as they get this summer. And if his thinking was that nobody wants to face Skubal and Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler in October, he wouldn't be wrong.

6. Los Angeles Dodgers (67-40)

Look, nobody is going to stop connecting the Dodgers to Skubal until the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. But the reality is that their starters lead the majors with a 3.36 ERA, and that's with Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow still working back from injuries.

But when the task at hand is winning a third straight World Series title, do you really want to leave anything to chance? That's a question for Andrew Friedman, and it wouldn't be surprising if he determined a Skubal trade to be worth emptying his No. 1-ranked farm system.

5. New York Yankees (61-46)

What the Yankees need first and foremost is for Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger to be healthy by the time October arrives. After that, they definitely need another leverage arm and another right-handed bat.

As with the Phillies and Dodgers, though, a Skubal trade shouldn't be ruled out just on the grounds that it's the biggest splash the Yankees can make. And even relative to Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole and Max Fried, he'd be New York's Game 1 starter in October.

Actually a Must-Have

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Jacob Misiorowski

4. Milwaukee Brewers (67-40)

The Brewers have NL Cy Young Award favorite Jacob Misiorowski out there throwing 100 mph on every pitch, so they don't need to go get an ace. But in this case, why not try to arrange this generation's Johnson and Schilling?

Skubal and Misiorowski would form a basically unbeatable 1-2 punch, and that may be what Milwaukee needs to get past those pesky Dodgers. It's not as if they're going to homer their way—their 98 long balls rank last in MLB—to the World Series, so simply not allowing runs is the next-best strategy.

3. Tampa Bay Rays (62-44)

The Rays are yet another team that needs a bat more than a starter. The starters they have rank fourth in the league with a 3.53 ERA, with Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez representing a perfectly solid trio.

But is any of them a proper Game 1 starter? The Rays would be right to feel skeptical about that. They're also similar to the Brewers in that they can't count on slugging their way through October, so going all-in on run prevention is the way to go.

2. Atlanta Braves (62-44)

Chris Sale is still as good as they come when he starts, but even his carrying capacities have been tested by the rest of Atlanta's rotation in recent weeks. Since June 1, Braves starters have a 4.98 ERA that ranks 25th in the league.

Insert Skubal into that equation, and the problem goes away in a hurry. He would also ensure that the Braves would have all they need to conquer the postseason. Between a Skubal-Sale duo, an elite bullpen and a homer-happy offense, it would be hard to ask for more.

1. Chicago Cubs (61-46)

The Cubs probably aren't the most likely landing spot for Skubal. It'll take a major haul to score him from the Tigers, and the North Siders are unfortunately lacking in both spare major leaguers and prospects. Their farm system ranks 24th in MLB.

But if any team should be willing to do what it takes, it's the Cubs. They have 61 wins even though their starters rank dead-last in the NL in rWAR, and there isn't an ace in the bunch. They need to fix that, and they can't hope for a better fix than Skubal.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.