MLB Rumors: Wild Tarik Skubal suitor emerges and another ace could be on the block

Memorial Day has come and gone, which typically means it's time for teams around MLB to take a step back and take a long, hard look in the mirror. No longer can slow starts be chalked up to small sample sizes; so, are you a contender, or is it time to start considering the possibility of selling at the trade deadline?

That question is trickier to answer this year than most, thanks in large part to just how topsy-turvy the standings are right now — especially in the AL, where pretty much nobody is out of it (well, nobody except the Angels, but they're always the exception). The Detroit Tigers' recent swoon had everybody firing up mock Tarik Skubal trades, but after a win on Thursday they're still just five games out of the final Wild Card spot. Will Skubal wind up getting dealt? Will any of the top pitchers potentially available be on the move? Or will parity convince everyone to hold tight and hope for the best?

Our latest MLB rumor roundup has more on Skubal's future, as well as the shape of the still-early trade market and the league moving one step closer to a lockout next winter.

Is an NL Central bidding war brewing for Tarik Skubal?

• Despite their recent skid, the wide-open AL landscape still makes it unlikely that the Tigers would move on from Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline
• But if they do fall too far behind, the Brewers and Cubs are two teams to watch

For as bad as things have been in Detroit of late, the fat lady hasn't quite sung just yet. The Tigers got back into the win column against the Angels on Wednesday, and they can absolutely talk themselves into being better than the uninspiring competition ahead of them — the Twins, Orioles, Red Sox, Rangers and others — in the Wild Card race. Given how much Skubal means to this franchise, they're going to need to be really out of things by July to even consider pulling the trigger.

If that does indeed come to pass, though, where might the two-time Cy Young winner wind up? The New York Post's Jon Heyman offered up his choice for pole position on Wednesday: the Chicago Cubs, who are pretty all-in themselves this season but have seen their pitching staff decimated by injuries to Cade Horton, Matthew Boyd and most recently Edward Cabrera (while Justin Steele remains out as he rehabs from Tommy John).

Chicago has the prospect capital to get a deal done, and while the Ricketts are almost certainly too cheap to get into the Skubal bidding in free agency this winter, we know from the Kyle Tucker trade that they're not opposed to taking a swing on a rental. They're not alone in their own division, though, as Ken Rosenthal offered up another tantalizing potential landing spot on Foul Territory: the Milwaukee Brewers.

And really, why not? Milwaukee is desperate to finally get over the hump in the NL, and they've got injuries of their own in the rotation right now. Skubal would be the single biggest shot in the arm available at the deadline. Plus, the Brewers have one of the best farm systems in the league, so they could compete with any offer. The same strategy worked like gangbusters with CC Sabathia in 2008, after all.

Freddy Peralta is the ace most likely to move at the trade deadline

• Chaos in the AL could keep Skubal, Joe Ryan, Nathan Eovaldi and other top arms from being dealt
• The picture is clearer in the NL, though, and that could prompt the Mets to sell

Skubal seems likelier to stay than go at this point. So too do names like Ryan and Eovaldi, as well as just about every other potential trade candidate in the AL. If you're looking for marquee pitching help at this year's deadline, you're going to need to head to the NL, where one name rises well above the rest: Mets righty Freddy Peralta.

The Marlins could finally pull the trigger on Sandy Alcantara, but there's no guarantee there given his extra year of team control. The fact that Peralta is a free agent this winter means the Mets will be motivated to move him if they remain mired in last place come July, and he's a more bankable pitcher than Alcantara at this point to boot. There's a real chance he's the best player moved at this year's deadline.

MLB slaps down MLBPA proposal as CBA negotiations get off to a rough start

• The MLBPA delivered its opening salvo of CBA negotiations, advocating for new penalties for teams who don't spend enough and better compensation for players prior to hitting free agency
• The league's response doesn't bode well for avoiding a lockout, though

It's not all trade rumors this time of year. On Wednesday, The Athletic's Evan Drellich broke the news that the MLBPA had released its first economic proposal to owners, as the two sides begin negotiations that will hopefully result in a new CBA before the current one expires at the end of this year. Based on how that proposal was received, though, I wouldn't hold my breath.

The union's demands seem reasonable enough: an increase in the big-league minimum salary, as well as a "competitive integrity tax" that would punish teams for not reaching certain payroll minimums and a host of changes that would make it easier for players to get paid before they hit free agency (and, in some cases, to actually hit free agency earlier). It's inarguably true that certain owners aren't spending as much as they could on their rosters, and that players bear the brunt of a business model that artificially depresses their salaries while their market values are the highest.

In response, the league ... basically stuck its fingers in its ears. The only thing that MLB seems interested in doing is continuing to trot out the Dodgers as a bogeyman, insisting that "our fans are telling us" that "solving the competitive balance problem" is priority No. 1.

Given that the playoff picture currently features teams like the Brewers, Rays, Guardians, Athletics and Twins, it seems like the league's competitive balance is doing just fine. Really, though, this is a convenient stalking horse, preying on fans' understandable Dodgers fatigue to hammer home the radical changes — namely, a salary cap — they've had their eye on all along.

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