MLB Trade Rumors: Tarik Skubal Heads to Cubs in Blockbuster Trade Proposal

It seems unfathomable that the Detroit Tigers would trade two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, the best pitcher in baseball. And yet the trade rumors continue to percolate all over the majors.

Skubal will be a free agent after the 2026 season, and it's unreasonable to expect the small-market Tigers to be able to afford the insanely massive contract that he will command.

With that, we have another trade proposal to consider, as put forth by Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report. It would send Skubal to the Chicago Cubs in return for some primo prospects plus a proven major league pitcher.

Chicago Cubs receive:

Tarik Skubal, SP

Detroit Tigers receive:

Moises Ballesteros, C (Cubs' No. 2 prospect)
Jaxon Wiggins, RHP (Cubs' No. 3)
Kevin Alcántara, OF (Cubs' No. 5)
Javier Assad, RHP

The Tigers would land three of the Cubs' top 5 prospects in this hypothetical deal, plus a pitcher, in Assad, who has already had some nice success in the majors over the last three years. He has a 3.43 ERA across 78 appearances, 54 of them starts.

Handful of Cubs top prospects would head to Detroit in proposed Skubal deal

Ballesteros, the stocky catcher, already made a successful debut in the majors this year, batting .298 in 20 games with a couple of homers and 11 RBIs for an .868 OPS. The outfielder, Alcantara, had an even smaller cup of coffee in the bigs this season, but handled the bat well in the extremely small sample size, with four hits, an RBI and a stolen base in 11 at-bats.

As for the Cubs, they'd get the best pitcher in baseball to head up their rotation, giving them a very strong starting staff that also includes Justin Steele, (when he returns from elbow surgery in May or June), the sensational rookie (and soon to be sophomore) Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd, along with the enigmatic Shota Imanaga.

Skubal to become free agent after 2026 season—no matter what he's with

But the Cubbies would have to be prepared to spend hundreds and hundreds of millions at the end of the season to keep Skubal as a free agent. And make no mistake, with the notorious Scott Boras as his agent, Skubal will not sign an extension before hitting the open market.

This won't be the last proposed Skubal trade, as every team worth its salt will try to get in on the sweepstakes, if, in fact, the Tigers can be tempted to deal him.