One of the biggest storylines in baseball right now is the potential Tarik Skubal trade sweepstakes.
The superstar ace is headed for free agency after next season, and it doesn’t seem like the Tigers will be able to sign him to a new deal. As a result, teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox could look to swing a huge trade to acquire the star.
But FanSided’s Cody Williams predicted the Tigers would opt to hold onto Skubal rather than trade him this offseason.
“There would be no bigger domino falling this offseason than Tarik Skubal being moved,” Williams wrote. “And while I’m not foolish enough to rule that out for the Detroit Tigers — especially as we see the starting pitching market start to slowly move along — I still can’t escape the notion that the likeliest outcome is the back-to-back Cy Young winner staying in Motown.
“I’m 100 percent sure that teams like the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and a plethora of others are in touch with Scott Harris about the cost of Skubal, even as a one-year rental who feels highly unlikely to sign an extension without testing free agency.”
There’s bound to be a lot of teams looking to trade for Skubal, but it would take a huge haul to bring him in.
But it wouldn’t make much sense for the Tigers to trade their ace unless they’ve tried their best to re-sign him. If it seems like there’s no chance he could be re-signed, a trade might make sense. But for now, the Tigers need to be building a roster to win with Skubal at the top.
More MLB: Giants Trade Idea Sends Top Prospect Slugger To Bitter Division Rival