MLB Network's Tigers-Orioles trade deadline proposal for Tarik Skubal takes things to new level

Two powerhouses have been reported as being in on Tarik Skubal: the Dodgers and Orioles, two surefire playoff contenders who would probably be willing to move mountains to get Skubal in their injury-plagued rotations. However, it's starting to become more widely understood that LA simply doesn't have the kind of prospect capital that Baltimore does, and that the more realistic Tigers starter for the Dodgers to chase would be Jack Flaherty (subscription required).

This doesn't mean that Skubal will be headed to the Orioles or Flaherty will be headed to the Dodgers. The Tigers trading Skubal at all is still very much undecided and would be the worst possible move for the front office to make if they care at all about getting fans back on side, and multiple teams are expected to give merry chase for Flaherty.

However, because Skubal's name is out there and connected to a team with the best farm system in baseball, Tigers-Orioles mock trades have been rampant, and many have been unrealistic. It's tricky, particularly if Detroit's trade partners are the Orioles, but some proposals have still felt like massive underpays.

If Garrett Crochet could get the White Sox five prospects, then Skubal should get the equivalent (if not better) treatment, right? Sure, but Orioles prospects are sort of in a league of their own, and just one of them would bring more heft than two from pretty much any other organization.

Joel Sherman of MLB Network had a not too terribly insane trade proposal: Skubal and reliever Jason Foley in exchange for baseball's No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday and former No. 32 overall prospect Heston Kjerstad.

Joel Sherman's proposed Tigers-Orioles trade for Tarik Skubal includes Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad

Any trade involving Skubal to the Orioles would pretty much have to include Holliday; Skubal's been that good. The Tigers asking for Holliday might shut talks down quickly, but the Orioles would have to know that Detroit would go there first and have a very good argument to back up that kind of ask. Holliday's bad stretch in his major league debut didn't exactly help him very much in terms of value (we know, we know, it's a small sample size and he obviously still has enormous upside), and it's unlikely that he'll be a major player in the Orioles' World Series chase the way Skubal could be.

Because of Holliday's pedigree and potential, that would definitely shut down the possibility of the Tigers getting 4+ more prospects out of the Orioles. Sherman's addition of Heston Kjerstad is a good one; he's hitting .286 with a .894 OPS this season and graduated from his prospect label. If the Tigers were to get him, they'd probably be totally fine with sending Parker Meadows packing for Toledo again.

Again, there are so many caveats here. The Tigers might not be willing to trade Skubal at all and the Orioles might not be willing to give up Holliday, which would render any talks dead in the water. A lot would have to go right to make this trade happen.