Detroit Tigers: 3 potential Tarik Skubal trades

Detroit Tigers Tarik Skubal Trade Partner: The Seattle Mariners

Seattle has one thing teams always look for in a trade partner: desperation. They haven’t been to the playoffs since 2001, and they fell agonizingly short of the postseason last year. Their red-hot July (17-4) has them in strong position to make it this year, but they could use a few upgrades as they try to secure their spot. Robbie Ray is pitching well after a rough start to the year, and Logan Gilbert has taking a big step forward this season. But the rest of the rotation is a bit light, and everyone can use bullpen help. Let’s make a deal:

Tarik Skubal isn’t from Seattle, but he spent four years there in college, so this would be something of a homecoming for him. The Mariners have handled left-handed batters pretty well this year, but they didn’t have any high-leverage left-handed relievers, so they traded for Ryan Borucki last month. Andrew Chafin would give them another reliable bullpen arm for at least this season.

From the Tigers perspective this is a deal with huge risks, but also plenty of potential reward. Jarred Kelenic was a top-ten prospect in baseball, but he has stumbled spectacularly in his two stints in the big leagues. He once seemed like an untouchable part of Seattle’s future, but with Julio Rodriguez looking the part of a future superstar, Kelenic now feels a bit like yesterday’s news.

Noelvi Marte came into the season as a top-20 prospect in baseball, but his prospect status slipped a bit as he struggled in the first half of the season. He’s been very error-prone as a shortstop, so he may have to move positions, but he’s a 20-year-old with big-time power and a solid approach at the plate, and he’s hitting .356/.447/.712 with seven home runs in July.

Emerson Hancock was a big name heading into the 2020 draft, when Seattle took him 6th overall, but he’s thrown just over 90 innings in professional baseball. He’s had shoulder troubles, and he looked a little reliever-ish at the Futures Game, but he also struck out all three batters he faced, and he still has mid-rotation upside. Marco Gonzales isn’t very good, but he’s a reliable veteran who has posted an ERA of 4.00 or better in each of the last five seasons. He’s under contract for the next two years for a total cost of $18.5 million, so the Tigers would be freeing a bit of money for the Mariners while finding someone to eat innings as they continue wandering the baseball desert.