Until Tuesday, some rival executives resisted calling the Detroit Tigers on left-hander Tarik Skubal, trying to be respectful as the team fought to remain in contention.
With the trade deadline just six days away, the time for such niceties is over.
Multiple teams planned to reach out to Detroit president of baseball operations Scott Harris after the Tigers lost their third straight game Monday night, according to people briefed on those clubs’ intentions who were granted anonymity for their candor.
The Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are among the clubs expected to inquire on Skubal, the reigning AL back-to-back Cy Young winner.
The Tigers are now seven games under .500, six games out in the AL Central and four games back in the AL wild-card race, with four teams ahead of them. Some clubs believe they might be willing to trade Skubal regardless of their position in the standings, as long as their asking price is met.
2026 Aces Project update: MLB insiders rank starting pitchers
Andy McCullough
That price is expected to be exorbitant, even though Skubal is eligible for free agency at the end of the season and amounts to merely a rental for the rest of 2026.
Skubal, 29, is back in Cy Young form, producing a 2.70 ERA in eight starts since returning from an innovative surgery to remove a loose body from his left elbow. In his most recent outing, last Friday against Kansas City, he threw a season-high 7 1/3 innings and struck out a season-high 12.
Opportunities to acquire a difference-making ace at the deadline rarely surface. Baseball people still reference the impact of Randy Johnson in 1998, CC Sabathia in 2008 and David Price in 2015. The trades can be that meaningful, that memorable.
The expectation among some rival executives is that Harris will, at least initially, ask for “no exclusions” in the Skubal talks, requiring teams to make virtually every one of their young players available.
One path for the Tigers, as The Athletic previously reported, is to acquire a controllable starting pitcher who would replace Skubal in their rotation, along with multiple prospects. That way, the Tigers possibly could remain in contention while ensuring they receive more than the draft pick they would get if they kept Skubal and he left as a free agent.
Small-market teams such as the Rays and Brewers figure to be more protective of their young talent than large-market clubs such as the Yankees, Braves and Dodgers.
The Rays, for example, might not be willing to discuss their top prospects – outfielder Theo Gillen and catchers Nathan Flewelling and Caden Bodine. The Brewers likely would be just as reluctant to part with shortstop Jesús Made, the game’s consensus No. 1 overall prospect, and infielder Luis Peña. They might even balk at including right-hander Logan Henderson, the type of controllable starter the Tigers might want but the Brewers consider valuable to their major-league staff.
The Dodgers, as they await the returns of Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani as a pitcher, face no particular urgency to add Skubal. But they are certain to adopt their usual “hanging around the backboard” strategy, if only to muddy the waters for rival clubs they perceive as threats.
The Braves could be one.
Alex Anthopoulos, the Braves’ president of baseball operations, is quite familiar with how the acquisition of a rental ace at the deadline can transform a club. He made such a move in his previous job with the Toronto Blue Jays, landing Price in 2015 for pitchers Matthew Boyd, Jairo Labourt and Daniel Norris.
Price went 9-1 with a 2.30 ERA for the Jays, who also acquired shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and overcame a seven-game deficit at the deadline to blow past the Yankees and win the AL East by six games.
Part of Anthopoulos’ urgency that year stemmed from the Jays’ 22-year playoff drought after winning the 1993 World Series. He generally has not pursued star pitchers as aggressively in Atlanta. Chris Sale had little value when the Braves acquired him in Dec. 2023.
A notable exception in Anthopoulos’ strategy occurred when he pursued Garrett Crochet in Dec. 2024, viewing him as a potential game changer even though the Braves’ rotation at the time was full. But the Braves, according to a person briefed on the discussions, would not part with catcher Drake Baldwin, who went on to become the NL Rookie of the Year. The Chicago White Sox instead traded Crochet to the Boston Red Sox.
The Braves’ farm system is deeper than it has been in recent years, and the same can be said for the Rays and Brewers. But if none of those clubs is willing to part with the talent the Tigers want for Skubal, and the Yankees are preoccupied with other needs, the Dodgers could emerge as the most viable suitor – in effect, the last team standing.
The Tigers’ Harris possesses the leverage of holding Skubal and trying to reach the postseason with him for the third straight year. But the Tigers’ playoff odds are down to 25.2 percent. The chances of them winning the World Series are 2.1 percent.
Let the Skubal sweepstakes begin. Other teams are ready to do business.
-The Athletic’s Will Sammon contributed to this story.
