Detroit Tigers starting Pitcher Tarik Skubal is coming off a season in which he won his second consecutive American League Cy Young Award. He has been the best pitcher in the American League since the start of the 2024 season and is now just one year away from being a free agent. As one of the top pitchers in the league, and at just 29 years old next season, Skubal is expected to land one of the richest contracts in MLB history for a starting pitcher.
The Tigers know that it will be tough for them to compete for his services with some of the big-market clubs on the open market, so their best course of action is to trade Skubal now and get as many young, controllable assets as possible. One thing that has to be considered here is that the Tigers have made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, so unless they want to take a step back, the trade return for Skubal must consist of big league-ready talent, as well as prospects who can help them as early as 2026.
By trading him in the offseason, rather than in the middle of the 2026 season, the Tigers will not only get a better offer from teams because the team acquiring him will get a full season of Skubal, but it also means that there will be more teams interested in trading for the big lefty. The more possible trading partners there are, the better chance that the Tigers get the best possible deal for their ace.
Here are some of the teams that have already been linked to Skubal:
Los Angeles Dodgers:
The back-to-back World Series Champions are always in the market for upgrades, and they have the prospects and big league talent to get a deal done. Adding Skubal to a rotation that already has Blake Snell, Yoshi Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, and Tyler Glasnow would give the Dodgers one of the best rotations we have seen this century.
Toronto Blue Jays:
The Blue Jays are coming off their first World Series appearance since 1993, and the core of their team remains in place, with the exception of pending free agents Bo Bichette and Max Scherzer. Adding Skubal to their rotation will give them arguably the best rotation in the AL East and possibly the best rotation in the entire American League.
New York Mets:
We know the Mets have very deep pockets, and we know they want to win. After crumbling in the second half of last season and missing the playoffs, there is no doubt that they will be looking to make some big moves this offseason, and trading for one of the best pitchers in the league is a good way to do that. Pitching became a problem for them a year ago, so addressing that issue is a big priority for them.
New York Yankees:
With Gerritt Cole returning in 2026, the Yankees already have a formidable rotation. Perhaps they want it to be even better, though? They have young arms like Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Luis Gil, who would definitely be of interest to the Tigers in a trade, so they could make it happen. The problem is, they have been burned by a trade similar to this when they went out and traded plenty of future assets to acquire Juan Soto, only to see him leave via free agency the next year.
Boston Red Sox:
The Red Sox showed last offseason that they are willing to make a big trade for a pitcher when they acquired ace Garrett Crochet from the White Sox. That trade worked out incredibly well for them, and they got back to the postseason. The idea of pairing Crochet with Skubal for 2026 has to be enticing for Boston, and would make them an instant contender in the American League, featuring arguably the best 1-2 punch in MLB since Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling back in 2001 for the Diamondbacks.
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