Tarik Skubal Trade Return Defended by Tigers President After Blockbuster Deal at 2026 MLB Deadline

Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris says he felt it would have been "irresponsible" not to trade ace Tarik Skubal the day before the MLB trade deadline.

The Tigers decided Sunday to deal Skubal and his expiring contract to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for three prospects, including MLB Pipeline Top 100 players in outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitcher River Ryan.

"I'm very confident that we absolutely maximized the return that we could get for Tarik Skubal... I'm very excited about the players we got," Harris told reporters Monday.

"I'm very confident that we maximized the market, and I'm very confident that the overall health and outlook of this organization is better for how we handled the deal and when we pulled the trigger on it."

Harris blamed himself for the Tigers ending up in position to trade both Skubal and Casey Mize at the deadline. As of Tuesday Detroit is 2.5 games back but would have to leapfrog five teams to make it to an AL Wild Card spot.

"I wanted to give this team every opportunity to make a really compelling case that we shouldn't do this... if there's anyone you should point to, it's me," Harris said. "We didn't collectively make the case compelling enough to add to this team."

MLB.com's Jason Beck reported via MLB Pipeline the return for Skubal marked the first since at least 2004 in which two top-100 prospects were included in a trade for a rental.

The Tigers made the decision to move Skubal after explorations of a potential extension revealed the pitcher "was intent on going to free agency and exploring the market," Harris said.

Harris pushed back against the idea the Tigers could have gotten a better return than that had the team waited until closer to Monday's deadline to move their star pitcher.

The Tigers were considering multiple "aggressive" offers, and the decision to go with the Dodgers' deal wasn't unanimous within the organization, according to Harris.

"I think there is a unique dynamic with a player like Tarik Skubal. Markets at the deadline for the top players are just different than the rest of the market," Harris said. "I understand the intuition that like, 'Hey, you're supposed to wait until the very last second on a deal and then pull the trigger at the very last season to maximize the return.' That's not how markets for the top players work.

"There was no team that was pursuing Tarik Skubal that was waiting to see if they could get someone else and then pivoting to Tarik if they didn't get them. There weren't these market forces that were ultimately affecting what each team's appetite was for a package to land Skubal. That was clear in all my conversations with the teams that we've talked to. The market was the market."

Harris said the Tigers ultimately landed on what he felt was the best "fit" for the franchise by adding outfield depth in Hope and pitching depth in Ryan and Brady Smith.

The Tigers are hoping Harris can contribute both batting power and outfield defense after more Double-A development, while looking for Ryan to eventually grow into a "true frontline guy" while Smith works on his rating as a "projectable starter," per Harris.

Harris will continue his development with Double-A Erie, while Smith is headed to High-A West Michigan. Ryan is assigned to Triple-A Toledo but is currently on IL amid recovery from a hamstring injury.

Whether these players are able to remain on track for MLB careers will determine how the Skubal trade grades out for the Tigers in the long run.