ESPN: Tigers intend to keep ace Tarik Skubal past trade deadline
· Yahoo Sports
The Detroit Tigers are rumored to be keeping their best player through the trade deadline – as long as they keep winning, that is.
ESPN's Alden Gonzalez published an article on Tuesday, July 21, in which he lays out the cases for and against the Los Angeles Dodgerstrading for Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. He begins his article, however, by pointing out that rival executives say the Tigers intend to keep Skubal through the trade deadline.
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"A few weeks ago, Tarik Skubal being dealt before Major League Baseball's trade deadline seemed like an inevitability. Now, it's at least a debate," he writes. "The growing sentiment among rival executives is that the Tigers will hold on to Skubal beyond the Aug. 3 deadline, in the leadup to his free agency, and give themselves every chance to make a run in 2026."
According to Gonzalez, however, there's a caveat to that assertion.
"They must keep playing well. Really well, perhaps," he writes. "Any slipup, and Skubal – the reigning, back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner, one of few men who can singlehandedly alter the dynamic of an entire sport – could be had."
Detroit entered the All-Star Break at 44-52, eight games under .500, 6½ games behind in the American League Central standings and 3½ games behind in the AL wild card chase. Despite winning three of their first four games after the break, however, the Tigers are still 6½ games behind in the division and have seen their AL wild card deficit grow to 4½ games, with the Boston Red Sox (in the final wild card spot) having extended their winning streak to 14 games.
But even though the Tigers have 62 games left in the season, they only have 12 before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, when they'll need to decide whether to trade Skubal or hold on to him for the rest of the season.
The lefty is 6-5 with a 2.83 ERA over 82⅔ innings in 2026, which include a six-week absence after undergoing arthroscopic surgery in his left elbow. Skubal had one of his best outings on Saturday, July 18, throwing seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts against the Los Angeles Angels.
Skubal wants the Tigers to add at the deadline, with Detroit sporting one of MLB's best records since June 1 (25-15) and a roster he thinks can compete for a World Series. Holding on to Skubal could be a risky move, however, with the ace likely leaving in free agency ahead of the 2027 season and the Tigers likely getting only a draft pick as compensation for his departure.
Gonzalez identifies the Dodgers as a good match for Skubal, with the team having a bounty of high-end outfield prospects to trade for the ace – though he also classifies the Dodgers as one of the few contending teams that may not need Skubal to win a title. After all, the Dodgers have by far the highest odds to win the World Series per FanGraphs (24.8%), significantly higher than Detroit's chances of simply winning its division (16.3%).
But if the Tigers keep climbing over the next two weeks, rumors about a Skubal trade to Los Angeles (or anywhere else, for that matter) may quickly become stale.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: ESPN: Tigers intend to keep ace Tarik Skubal past trade deadline