Despite being somewhat alive in the American League Playoff race, the Detroit Tigers were sellers ahead of Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline.
Detroit dealt away Jack Flaherty, Mark Canha, Andrew Chafin and Carson Kelly as the team pretty much gave up on contention moving forward this season.
One player who was not moved is ace starter and likely American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. He was the center of several rumors leading up to the July 30 deadline. But with Skubal under team control for the foreseeable future, it really didn’t make much sense for the Tigers to trade him.
We’re now hearing more on how talks went from Tigers president Scott Harris. He told reporters on Thursday that a deal was never really close.
“Not close,” Harris said, via WXYZ Detroit sports director Brad Galli. “There were a lot of rumors that floated out there. There are a lot of ’unconfirmed reports’ that are just totally inaccurate. We never came close to trading Skubal.”
This falls in line with a report from Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times indicating that the Dodgers didn’t get the impression Skubal was available.
Related: Detroit Tigers standing in Sportsnaut’s MLB power rankings
Will the Detroit Tigers trade Tarik Skubal this winter?
That’s the biggest question right now. The 27-year-old lefty is under team control through the 2026 season. He’s eligible for arbitration this coming winter and following the 2025 season. The former ninth-round pick is also in the midst of a major break out campaign.
- Tarik Skubal stats (2024): 12-3 record, 2.35 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 154 strikeouts
Skubal absolutely does have ace stuff. That can’t be denied. It’s also one of the reasons why the asking price for him was said to be sky high.
At 52-57 heading into MLB games today, the Tigers hope to contend moving forward. Trading one of the game’s best pitchers is unlikely to be in the cards over the short term.