Tarik Skubal Sends Bold Message To Tigers As Trade Rumors Swirl
Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal sent a clear message to the team amid his name coming up in trade rumors.
Skubal is a pending free agent, and he could very well be traded ahead of the August 3 trade deadline, with the Tigers well out of a playoff spot. Although Skubal has spent his entire career in Detroit, he will be in line for a massive payday in free agency, and it's uncertain if the Tigers will be able to afford it.
So, if the Tigers can't re-sign Skubal and the playoffs are seemingly out of reach, a trade could very well happen. Yet, in Skubal's return from injury, he's hoping to spark a hot streak, as he knows if the Tigers don't get hot, he will be dealt.
"The reality is we need to play better baseball or else, come the deadline, you give the front office an option to reassess where this team is," Skubal said to The Detroit News. "And if they don't think what we have is a World Series- or playoff-caliber team, then the whole team is going to look different. That's just the nature of the beast."
It's a clear message from Skubal to the entire Tigers organization. Win, or I will be traded.
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The Tigers' bad start wasn't helped by Skubal going on the injured list and undergoing elbow surgery. Yet, he missed less than two months and has made two starts since returning on June 13.
So, despite Skubal's name coming up in trade rumors, he said he's just focused on pitching and not the August 3 trade deadline.
"I don't think about it a lot," Skubal said. "I try not to let that consume me because I need to worry about what I'm doing today. ... But there's also the reality part to it. Everybody, the whole room, needs to focus on winning tonight's game, winning a series, winning the next series, and just let it snowball."
Skubal is the reigning back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner.
Who Might Trade For Tarik Skubal?
Although Skubal is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, there will likely be only a handful of teams that are truly interested in him.
The price to acquire the ace left-hander will be extreme, so some contenders don't have the prospect capital to make a trade work. And, with Skubal being a pending free agent, there is a risk in giving up a lot of assets and seeing him leave in free agency just a few months later.
So, ahead of the MLB trade deadline, insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic named just five teams that could make a move for Skubal.
"Trying to figure out which teams are most likely to trade for Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal? Start with the ones in the best position to land a first-round bye," Rosenthal wrote. "Right now, those teams would be the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves in the National League, the New York Yankees and one of the two American League Central leaders, the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians, in the AL."
The Dodgers, Yankees, and Braves have been the most connected to Skubal, and whoever acquires the left-hander could very well become World Series favorites.
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This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 11:12 AM.