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Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal has been at the center of trade rumors since the 2025 season ended.
Skubal put together another great season at Motown. He was 13-6 with a 2.21 ERA and had 241 strikeouts. He won his second straight American League Cy Young Award and could make a case for being one of the greatest pitchers in franchise history.
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Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal high-fives teammates in the dugout after a pitching change during the seventh inning at Comerica Park in Detroit, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Skubal’s future with the Tigers is unclear as trade rumors have swirled around him. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox have already been mentioned as potential suitors.
Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris fanned the flames of the rumor mill when he spoke to MLB Network during the winter meetings in Orlando, Florida.
“I don’t believe in untouchable players at any level,” Harris said, via ESPN . “That’s not a comment on Tarik. It’s more of a general approach to building a winning organization. My job is to make this organization better … which means I have to listen to every opportunity, no matter how likely or unlikely it actually happens. I have to listen because we have to get better as an organization, so that’s our approach.
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws against the Seattle Mariners during the third inning during Game Five of the ALDS round of the 2025 MLB playoffs at T-Mobile Park on Oct. 10, 2025. (Steven Bisig/Imagn Images)
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“We haven’t got everything figured out, but it’s led to a ton of success in a very short time. And I can stand here and credibly say that we have both a bright present and a bright future, and this approach has led to that.”
Why would the Tigers trade Skubal now after great back-to-back seasons?
Skubal has one more season left before he would become a free agent. He’s a pitcher who could potentially demand hundreds of millions of dollars in his next deal. The Tigers dealing him in the offseason or before the 2026 trade deadline will likely create valuable prospects to build for the future.
Harris said he wouldn’t speculate on the possibility of trading any particular player and that Skubal was a big part of what the team was trying to build right now.
June 12, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) looks on during the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 12, 2025. (Daniel Kucin Jr./Imagn Images)
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Detroit was 87-75 and defeated the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Wild Card Series. The Tigers then lost to the Seattle Mariners in five games in the American League Division Series.
