Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- With the trade deadline approaching, one All-Star ace remains firmly off the market despite recent team struggles.
- A perennial playoff contender is now openly evaluating a dramatic reset that would reshape their roster and farm system.
- Contenders are targeting specific pitching reinforcements to bolster their October chances, but depth remains a critical concern.
The MLB All-Star Game has gome and gone, and the regular season resumes with the Phillies hosting the Mets on Thursday night. That means attention now completely turns to the next major event on the calendar: the trade deadline. It's less than three weeks away now, meaning that sooner rather than later we're going to see some needle-movers get dealt.
Will Tarik Skubal be one of them? The latest MLB rumors cover that question as well as the futures of two below-.500 teams weighing drastically different deadline paths. Let's dive in.
Tigers' asking price for Tarik Skubal currently 'outrageous'
With the Tigers struggling through an early-summer swoon, fans and media members alike treated Tarik Skubal as though he was as good as gone by the trade deadline. But lo and behold, Detroit has righted the ship, entering the All-Star break just 3.5 games back of the third and final AL Wild Card spot. And now it doesn't seem like Skubal will be going anywhere until this winter: A report from Ken Rosenthal, Patrick Mooney, Katie Woo and Will Sammon in the Athletic on Thursday cites a club official who claims that the Tigers' asking price for their ace is currently "outrageous".
As well it should be. It's not just that Skubal is the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner and quite possibly the best pitcher on planet Earth. He's also the face of Detroit's franchise, the kind of player you rarely recover from trading. Will they probably lose him in free agency? Sure. But as long as they have a puncher's chance at another postseason run, Scott Harris is going to force teams to give him an offer he can't refuse.
AJ Preller says Padres are taking 'open-minded' approach to trade deadline
San Diego, meanwhile, is trending in the opposite direction. Just 29-37 since the start of May, the Padres have been left in the dust in the NL West and are barely clinging to life in the Wild Card chase. The lineup stinks, the pitching is threadbare and we have two and a half months of evidence now to suggest that this is simply not a playoff team.
All of which has AJ Preller considering something he's loath to do: sell. Asked about his team's plans ahead of the deadline, Preller sounded an unusually realistic note, telling MLB.com that "we’re going to go in open-minded about whether it’s acquiring players or looking at it if we have to go another direction. All those things are on the table.”
Translated from Preller-speak, that's a pretty shocking admission. If one of the most aggressive executives in recent baseball history is leaving open the possibility of "going another direction," that should tell you all you need to know about what he thinks of the team he currently has. San Diego still has time to change that, but a reset is sorely needed, and rental relievers like Jason Adam and Adrian Morejon — not to mention bigger fish like Mason Miller, Michael King or even Fernando Tatis Jr. — could do wonders for this flagging farm system.
Phillies looking for not just one but multiple relievers
Speaking of relievers! The Philadelphia Phillies are sure to be in the market, as they now find themselves just two games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East and in sole possession of the second Wild Card spot. It's now on Dave Dombrowski to give this aging core what it needs to make one more run at a World Series title, and he was very clearly on what he'll be looking for ahead of the deadline.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Dombrowski hopes to add one starter and not just one but two relievers between now and Aug. 3. While Cristopher Sanchez, Zack Wheeler and Jesus Luzardo are a dynamite trio to start a short series, there's very little depth behind them, and you need to actually make it to October first. The bullpen, meanwhile, doesn't have too many arms Don Mattingly can trust beyond Jhoan Duran, Jonathan Bowlan and Orion Kerkering. The lineup could use another righty outfielder, but those are in short supply; targeting the pitching staff and hoping that Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper can carry you feels like the move.
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