Building a monster Tigers trade package for Paul Skenes as Pirates slip into the abyss

Tigers fans have had a lot of criticisms for owner Chris Ilitch and Detroit's front office — a lot of which has been warranted over the last decade — but nothing could compare to the willful incompetence of Pirates ownership and their front office as well as the deserved hatred the Pittsburgh faithful have toward them.

The Tigers and Pirates are both small/mid-market teams that have been stuck in the doldrums since the mid-2010s and have continuously drafted high because of it. But the Tigers have actually been able to develop their players, and the Pirates haven't. Also, in recent years, the Tigers have been willing to spend a little money to build around those players, and the Pirates haven't.

The biggest success for the Pirates franchise in a very long time has, undoubtedly, been Paul Skenes (though one could argue that the Pirates had nothing to do with it and he came to them basically ready to be a star). But because Pittsburgh ownership is unwilling to build around him, his first six years in the majors could be a total wash.

Trade rumors have started up around Skenes thanks to an impassioned take from Jeff Passan, and that's gotten a lot of fans thinking about the "what ifs." The Pirates came out and shot them down, but nobody will believe it until the trade deadline has passed.

The Tigers have turned themselves into contenders. They have one of the best farm systems, if not the best, in baseball. Could they actually pull off a trade for Skenes?

What would a realistic trade package to bring Paul Skenes to the Tigers look like?

Even Nos. 1-3 in the Detroit pipeline — Max Clark, Kevin McGongigle, and Bryce Rainer — would be far from enough to get a deal over the line. Throw in two more prospects from the top 10, Hao-Yu Lee and Owen Hall, then you're getting closer. Still, the Pirates' offense is one of the worst in the game, and they'd want a bat that could jump straight into major league action. Enter: Spencer Torkelson.

Torkelson was named as a potential trade candidate to the Pirates this offseason before he started to prove everyone (including the Tigers front office, evidently) wrong about him. Although his ascent this year would make it tough for fans to see him go, it also raises his trade value significantly. He's on a 40-homer pace for the season and is still very young. Whatever was wrong with him he's seemingly fixed.

Make no mistake — just because the Tigers could plausibly trade for Skenes doesn't mean that they should. And, realistically, they probably wouldn't. The Tigers value their prospects much too highly, and a trade like this would gut the pipeline. Besides, the rotation is solid for the moment, with Tarik Skubal doing regular Tarik Skubal things, Casey Mize also living up to the hype, and Reese Olson getting better every year.

Still, it's a fun hypothetical to think about, especially since the Tigers would never be willing to dole out the kind of money that Skenes will rake in when he gets to free agency. This is a fun thought experiment and nothing more.