Tarik Skubal's Top Trade Landing Spots Revealed by MLB Insider amid Latest Deadline Rumors

Tarik Skubal is the top prize at this year's MLB trade deadline, and there are reportedly a handful of suitors who have separated themselves from the group in pursuit of the Detroit Tigers star.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported Thursday the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays are "leading the pack" for the southpaw with the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies as other possibilities.

"The Brewers, Rays and Dodgers have the most high-end prospects to move," a source told Feinsand. "It would be somewhat surprising if he didn't wind up with one of those three teams."

While the Tigers are just 4.5 games out of a playoff spot and would be significantly worse without their ace, he's set to hit free agency this winter. At seven games under .500, they are not realistic World Series contenders.

That means moving Skubal for a significant return before he potentially leaves in free agency is probably the best path moving forward for the future of the organization, even if it will be a painful one.

With that as the backdrop, Detroit will surely look for plenty of young talent in return.

That's notable when it comes to the Dodgers and Brewers in particular, as Feinsand noted they have nine and six players in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospect list, respectively. As for the Rays, they have three even though their "Top 30 list is widely considered to be deep and impressive."

A bidding war is exactly what the Tigers need and the best way to get the most in return for arguably the best pitcher in the game.

But the rest of the league surely doesn't want to see Skubal, who took home the last two American League Cy Young awards and has a 2.79 ERA this season, on the Dodgers.

Los Angeles won the last two championships and already has a loaded pitching staff featuring Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, even if Shohei Ohtani isn't currently taking the mound because of injury concerns.

Still, Feinsand pointed out Snell and Glasnow have each dealt with injuries this season on top of the Ohtani situation. Los Angeles could use more depth, although Skubal is far from just a depth piece.

Any team having to face him and Yamamoto alone on the top of the rotation will be facing a daunting task when it comes to figuring out a way to defeat the powerhouse Dodgers in the playoffs. 

Milwaukee figures to be one of their top challengers in the National League, so perhaps the Tigers will use the threat of Los Angeles to ask for even more in return.