The Detroit Tigers have been one of the most disappointing teams in baseball this season as they currently sit in last place in the American League Central with a 22-38 record.
Not much has gone right for the Tigers as they’ve collectively struggled as an offense despite returning most of their key contributors from last year’s team that advanced to the AL Division Series.
The Tigers have also been without Tarik Skubal for most of the season after he underwent surgery on May 6 to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. However, the two-time Cy Young Award is facing a much shorter recovery time due to the revolutionary NanoNeedle that was used during the operation, which could see him return sometime in June.
MLB insider Ken Rosenthal said during a recent Fox broadcast that the Tigers will listen to trade offers for Skubal if he quickly picks up where he left off.
“Kevin, it’s trending that way,” Rosenthal answered when asked if the Tigers could trade Skubal before the Aug. 3 deadline. “In talking with people around the game, that is their feeling. They have 10 pitchers on the injured list, 15 players overall. That’s tied with the Dodgers for most in the Majors.
“So the outlook right now for them is rather bleak, and honestly it’s difficult to imagine them making up a 14-game-under-.500 deficit to get back to .500 and then contending, even in a weak American League.
“So the question becomes will Skubal be healthy enough? And that’s what we don’t know. He is coming off that innovative NanoNeedle elbow surgery, and maybe he’s back in mid-June, maybe it’s late June.
“As long as he proves that he is healthy again, teams are going to line up. And then the question becomes, are the Tigers willing? Certainly, if the situation is that daunting. If the situation is that bleak, they’re going to have to listen.”
Do the Tigers have to trade Tarik Skubal?
With Skubal on track to become a free agent after the 2026 season and command one of the largest contracts for a pitcher in MLB history, the consensus is that the Tigers will at the very least entertain trade offers.
Skubal is considered unlikely to re-sign with Detroit, which should incentive the club to get any kind of value back for him. And with roughly two-thirds of the league currently in contention for a playoff berth, it is shaping up to be another seller’s market at the trade deadline.
That could play into the Tigers’ hands if they decide to move forward with a Skubal trade. But they also might choose to hold onto the 29-year-old and extend him the qualifying offer at the end of the season, which would net them draft compensation if he signs with a new team.
If the Tigers make it known that they plan to trade Skubal, there will be no shortage of suitors for him. The Los Angeles Dodgers have been linked to Skubal in the past and could make another play for him given the current state of their starting rotation, with several key pitchers on the injured list.
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