It's no secret that the San Diego Padres need starting pitching, and the revelation that Yu Darvish will miss the entire 2026 MLB season after undergoing UCL surgery only adds to that clear need. The Detroit Tigers making Tarik Skubal available, which is a clear possibility, would allow the Padres to add the best starting pitcher in baseball to a rotation needing reinforcements. This sounds like something A.J. Preller will work hard to pull off, but is it really realistic?
Yu Darvish underwent UCL surgery and is expected to miss the entire 2026 season, the Padres announced. pic.twitter.com/YwOOrONLVw
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 4, 2025
If any executive would seemingly find a way to trade for Skubal, it's probably Preller. From Mason Miller to Tanner Scott to Juan Soto, it feels like most of the time a star player becomes available, Preller finds a way to get a deal done, even if he overpays. Given that, why would a Skubal deal be unrealistic? Well, this comes down to Preller not having much else to offer.
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A.J. Preller doesn't have enough to land Tarik Skubal
To get players like Miller, Scott and Soto, the Padres had to trade prospects like Leo De Vries, Robby Snelling and James Wood. If San Diego had even one of those prospects, the Padres might've even been the favorites to land Skubal. Without them, who do the Padres have to offer?
Their top two prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, are Ethan Salas and Kruz Schoolcraft. Salas was once one of MLB's top prospects, but his stock has rapidly fallen the last couple of years, and he's a fringe top-100 prospect at best right now. With Dillon Dingler in the majors and Josue Briceno in the pipeline, it's not as if the Tigers need a catcher anyway. Schoolcraft, San Diego's first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, has a lot of upside, but he's also an 18-year-old starting pitcher who was drafted out of high school. He's a ways away from the majors. The last thing the Tigers should want to do is wait years to see a prospect they acquire for the best pitcher in baseball debut.
The Padres could trade from their MLB roster, but who do they have that Detroit would realistically want? The Padres are not going to trade guys like Miller or Jackson Merrill. Most of their other intriguing players, other than relievers like Adrian Morejon and Jeremiah Estrada, are on expensive, long-term deals.
The Padres can make however many offers they want, but most of the league can, and presumably will, outbid them. It's hard to fully count A.J. Preller out, but realistically, Skubal is not coming to San Diego this winter.
Padres rotation is in a rough spot
The Padres don't have enough for Skubal, yet it feels like they need him more than any other contender. I mean, look at their current rotation.
Padres Rotation Order | Pitcher |
|---|---|
SP1 | Nick Pivetta |
SP2 | Joe Musgrove |
SP3 | Randy Vasquez |
SP4 | JP Sears |
SP5 | Matt Waldron |
Nick Pivetta broke out in 2025, and getting Joe Musgrove back healthy will help, but beyond those two, there isn't much to get excited about. Randy Vasquez and JP Sears are No. 5 starters at best, and Matt Waldron is probably best suited to be in Triple-A. They could move Mason Miller back to the rotation, but there are risks involved with that. Adding Skubal would solve a lot of their problems, but what's the realistic plan, knowing Skubal isn't really an option?
They probably can afford to bring one of Dylan Cease or Michael King back, but I doubt they re-sign both. Perhaps they can trade for a less expensive option like Freddy Peralta, but even that, with the tradable talent they have, feels far-fetched.
A.J. Preller is going to have to work his magic to get this rotation in order for 2026. It'll be fascinating to see what he has in store.