Tigers ‘may have no choice’ but to make unfortunate Tarik Skubal trade decision originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Detroit Tigers have not had a good 2026 season by any means. They’ve struggled this season, and now are 20-32m second-to-last in the American League.
With such a rough record and things seemingly not getting any better anytime soon, the Tigers might wind up as sellers at the trade deadline this year.
MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today, with such fears in mind, noted that the Tigers “may have no choice” but to make an unfortunate, but realistic, trade decision with fan favorite and Cy Young-winning ace Tarik Skubal.
Tigers might not have a choice but to trade Tarik Skubal this year
“Now that it’s becoming inevitable that the free-falling Detroit Tigers may have no choice but to trade two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal at the deadline,” Nightengale writes, “rival executives believe the bidding will come down to four finalists that not only can afford the remainder of his $32 million contract, but also be willing to give up prized prospects…”
With the Tigers’ struggles this season, a sell-off at the trade deadline is very much a real possibility. The only question would be to what extent to sell.
Obviously, the Tigers aren’t going to trade everyone, as they can still be a competitive team in 2027 and 2028 if they make the right moves.
But any player on an expiring contract would be someone worth trading away. And unfortunately, that list includes Skubal.
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The back-to-back Cy Young winner, Skubal, is the most sensible player to trade this season for the Tigers if they cannot right this sinking ship in the near future.
Even though Skubal is on the injured list, it’s hard to imagine some teams not making efforts to acquire Skubal, assuming his medicals check out.
Nightengale named the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, and San Diego Padres as the four teams that might inquire about a Skubal trade.
All four would make sense, as they’d be willing to part with the ridiculous asking price the Tigers, justifiably, can ask for.
Skubal might be on his way out this season, as Nightengale believes the team might not have much of a choice by the deadline but to trade away their Cy Young ace this season.
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