Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Tigers are willing to wait on a flawed team before jumpstarting Tarik Skubal trade talks.
- Internal injuries and a shaky rotation have amplified the pressure on the Tigers front office to act before the deadline.
- Yet, a series loss to the Houston Astros highlighted the Tigers' biggest issues, and it could cost them leverage in Skubal talks.
The longer the Detroit Tigers wait to make up their mind on Tarik Skubal, the worse off they'll be at the MLB trade deadline. Yes, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris wants to give this Tigers team — fresh off an ALDS appearance and with a hungry young core — every chance he can to turn their season around. But a lot has changed for the Tigers in just a couple of days.
A series loss to the Houston Astros has overshadowed a hot start to June. The Tigers remain on the outside looking in of the AL Wild Card race. Frankly, they're lucky to be within striking distance at all, and there are a lot of teams to jump before we can take the Tigers seriously as a contender. That's what makes the recent rumblings about Skubal — that Harris will wait until at least the MLB All-Star Break, if not longer to make up his mind — all the more concerning.
What the Tigers lose by holding onto Tarik Skubal
By not committing to trading Skubal after his most recent start against the Cleveland Guardians (a loss, mind you), Harris and the Tigers lost their most valuable asset; time. Time is on the Tigers side if they decide right here and now that Skubal is part of their past, rather than their present. Odds are, Detroit will wind up dealing Skubal either way barring a dominant run up to the All-Star Break. Yet, that's weeks of negotiating time Harris could be using to increase Skubal's value, and scouting the right prospects for a return package. It would also give Detroit a leg-up on teams offering a perceived backup plan, such as the New York Mets and Freddy Peralta.
Just like there is only one Skubal, Harris will only receive one chance to land the right return package for a two-time AL Cy Young winner. The pressure is on, and it's increasing by the day. This Tigers team is just good enough — and well-managed by AJ Hinch — to stay where they're at. In Houston, the Tigers lost Gleyber Torres to the injured list alongside Wencel Perez. The hits keep on coming for a team that has been beleaguered by injuries all season long. Perhaps Harris and Hinch see something we don't, but that would require watching a different product entirely.
In Jeff Passan's recent article ranking the top-100 trade deadline candidates, Skubal was unsurprisingly No. 1. This is the Skubal deadline, after all, and he is far and away the best starting pitcher and player available. Per Passan, Skubal's "future depends on whether the Tigers can muster a run at an American League playoff spot."
The Tigers Tarik Skubal leverage is gone
The injuries are mounting for the Tigers, and any hope of a second-half run stands on the backs of players currently unavailable. While some of those players, such as starting pitcher Casey Mize, could make their return soon, is anyone really all that confident they'll contribute at their usual clips? This is a lineup far too reliant on Gleyber Torres, who has missed over a month of action and just landed back on the IL. The bullpen is a mess, with a three-headed closer monster with little bite. And the starting rotation is held together with medical tape.
Detroit is staring down the barrel. Their next two series, both at home against contenders Chicago and New York, will determine their season. Perhaps they'd have a little bit more leeway had they not fallen short in Cleveland and Houston.
The good news for Harris is that Skubal is a once-in-a-generation lefty. Any team that acquires him will immediately see their World Series odds skyrocket, and rightly so. Skubal is the kind of pitcher who can turn a contender into a World Series favorite, or in the case of the Dodgers a back-to-back champion into a three-peat shoe-in. That's incredibly valuable.
But the longer the Tigers wait to jumpstart negotiations, the less they'll be able to demand in return. The difference between a trade package with one top-100 prospect and two can determine the length of a rebuild. These are all matters Harris has surely thought through. He just bet on the wrong horse, and can't afford to wait much longer.
More MLB news and analysis:
Add us as a preferred source on Google