MLB Execs List 4 Teams As Frontrunners For Tarik Skubal Trade With Tigers

Tarik Skubal is working his back from a minor surgical procedure on his elbow in record time. The two-time defending Cy Young award winner will be back in plenty of time to show he's fully recovered well ahead of the trade deadline in mid-summer.

With the Tigers tanking to near the bottom of the majors this season, holding the third-worst record in MLB, a trade of the pending free agent is pretty much a lock. Skubal, who won an arbitration award of $32M against the team's low-ball offer of $19M, is as good as gone in free agency, so they're best off bringing in a big haul for him by the end of July.

According to insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today, rival executives feel that these four teams will be frontrunners to make a legitimate bid to land Skubal:

Los Angeles Dodgers
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays
San Diego Padres

Not many will be surprised by any of these teams listed. With the expensive paycheck Skubal is owed for the rest of this season, and the potential of trying to retain him on a massive offer after the year, these are definitely the favorites.

All four of the teams have injury troubles in their starting rotations, and expect to be playoff teams who would love to have another ace for the postseason. Yes, the Dodgers, Yankees & Jays have three of the best rotations in the game already when everyone is healthy, but we all know the nature of major league pitching these days. Rarely does everyone stay healthy.

We might add the Chicago Cubs into this mix, as well, as they fit all the same criteria—a rotation that's hurting, a playoff hopeful, and a big market with money they could spend on Skubal.

The left-hander had a 2.70 ERA, a 0.94 WHIP, and a 45:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 43 innings before going down to an elbow procedure at the end of April to remove a loose body. But he's on a miraculous recovery, and should be back well before the end of June or July, which was the initial projection.