At least Scott Harris' Tarik Skubal trade deadline comments didn't anger Tigers fans

Sorry, Detroit Tigers fans – we hate to do it, but we have to bring up the 2024 MLB trade deadline again. But bear with us; it's for a good reason.

Look, we all know the Jack Flaherty trade wasn't the greatest. The Tigers had the top rental starter on the market and got a light package from the Los Angeles Dodgers. In return for Flaherty, the Tigers received High-A catcher Thayron Liranzo and Triple- A shortstop Trey Sweeney, both of whom are now ranked their Nos. 5 and 24 prospects, respectively. Felt like more could've been done.

The return for Flaherty somehow felt even more underwhelming compared to the return the Toronto Blue Jays got for Yusei Kikuchi, another rental pitcher who is having a decidedly worse season on the mound. In dealing Kikuchi to the Houston Astros, the Blue Jays got pitching prospect Jake Bloss (now No. 3 in Toronto's farm system), major league left fielder Joey Loperfido, and infield prospect Will Wagner (No. 22).

Then, to make matters worse, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris actually defended the trade, rejecting the premise that the return for Flaherty was less than the return Toronto got for Kikuchi. He even delivered this gem of an explanation: "We had opportunities to make different deals with different teams. This is the deal we chose for a reason."

You don't say? Well, with that incredibly vague and uninformative context, everything is perfectly clear now. Thanks, Scott!

At least Scott Harris' Tarik Skubal trade deadline comments didn't drive Tigers fans up a wall

Harris may have dug himself into a hole that he won't be able to get out of with Flaherty. However, he may have redeemed himself (albeit slightly) with his comments about the decision not to trade Tigers ace and American League Cy Young Award frontrunner Tarik Skubal at the deadline.

Given how many rumors were swirling around Skubal, it's fair to wonder how close a deal – no matter how misguided – may have gotten. According to Harris, though, it was never close at all.

“Not close,” Harris said during his post-deadline press conference. "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.”

Well, it's a relief to know that Harris hasn't completely lost direction of this team. Skubal still has years of team control remaining on his contract, and he has been one of the only reasons for Tigers fans to be excited about anything this summer.

More importantly, however, Harris' refusal to trade Skubal could be a hint at what's to come this offseason. If Harris had left any room for speculation that the Tigers were open to moving Skubal at the deadline, the trade rumors would undoubtedly start bubbling up again once the season was over. But in making it clear that he was unwilling to even consider a trade, Harris did leave some room for speculation that the Tigers might make an aggressive push to upgrade their roster this winter.

Skubal gives the Tigers the best chance to contend for the two remaining years on his contract, and possibly longer. Harris knows that. Trading Skubal would have been his way of waving the white flag, indicating that the Tigers were headed for a full-scale, down-to-the-studs rebuild that would delay their future window of contention even further. But keeping Skubal means that he's still trying to build a winning team, and he's trying to do it now.

If the Tigers can finish the 2024 season on a high note, it could be a very busy offseason in Detroit. Skubal's here to stay, and we hope there will be reinforcements arriving alongside him.

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