5 Teams Linked To Tarik Skubal As Latest Trade Talks Ramp Up

As Ken Rosenthal noted this week, "Until Tuesday, some rival executives resisted calling the Detroit Tigers on left-hander Tarik Skubal, trying to be respectful as the team fought to remain in contention." But, he says, "the time for such niceties is over."

He now lists five teams as in the running for Skubal, who will almost certainly be dealt now after the Tigers' complete collapse on Wednesday, when Skubal left the game in the 7th with a 7-1 lead, going on to lose 10-9 to the Baltimore Orioles. 

Detroit is now 4.0 games back of the last Wild Card spot, with four other teams ahead of them as well. The time to sell is nigh. 

Rosenthal gives us the latest lowdown on the Skubal sweepstakes:

"The Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are among the clubs expected to inquire on Skubal."

The asking price, however, "is expected to be exorbitant, even though Skubal is eligible for free agency at the end of the season and amounts to merely a rental for the rest of 2026."

But it isn't often that a two-time defending Cy Young winner comes on the market, and for teams looking to bolster their rotations going into the playoffs, it doesn't get much better than that. 

Dodgers remain the frontrunners for Skubal, among 5 suitors

Of those five teams, the Dodgers, of course, are the frontrunners. Who else? Rosenthal handicaps the race:

"Small-market teams such as the Rays and Brewers figure to be more protective of their young talent than large-market clubs such as the Yankees, Braves and Dodgers."

LA is patiently awaiting the returns of Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, sometime before the postseason. The status of Shohei Ohtani The Pitcher is unkown (though he continues to DH). 

The Dodgers have the best stash of young talent to offer the Tigers, we'll see if they pull the trigger.