Detroit Tigers: 3 potential Tarik Skubal trades

Detroit Tigers Tarik Skubal Trade Partner: The St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals seem like an ideal candidate for this sort of trade. They currently boast a top-ten offense, filled with a solid mix of All-Star veterans and young regulars. But the Cardinals are also working with a bottom-five pitching staff, anchored by 34-year-old Miles Mikolas and Adam Wainwright, who turns 41 in a month. Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz are hurt, Dakota Hudson doesn’t strike out anyone, Jordan Hicks walks everyone, and Matthew Liberatore and Andre Pallante are rookies going through the usual bumps.

St. Louis’ bullpen has been solid, but it could certainly use more depth. Ryan Helsley has been a revelation this year, and Giovanny Gallegos is a quality setup man. Maybe the Tigers can help the Cardinals in two areas:

Jordan Walker is elite. He’s a 6’5, 220lb. third baseman with huge raw power, and he’s currently batting .304/.393/.486 as a 20-year-old in Double-A. He’s a top-10 prospect prospect in baseball, and the Cardinals almost certainly don’t want to trade him. But you have to spend money to make money, and the Cardinals happen to have third baseman Nolan Arenado signed through the 2026 season, and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt signed through 2024.

Alec Burleson was a two-way player at East Carolina, but he has abandoned the mound in pro ball and turned into a pretty darn good hitter. Now 23, Burleson is batting .338/.380/.552 with 17 home runs for Triple-A Memphis this year, and he looks the part of an average regular in an outfield corner. Freddy Pacheco is a 24-year-old reliever with a big arm and good results in the upper minors, and Johan Oviedo is a 24-year-old pitcher with a big body, a big arm, and not a whole lot of success through 111 big-league innings.