Tigers Rumors: Pair of prospect-loaded foes prepping massive Tarik Skubal trade offers

A few weeks ago, Jim Bowden wrote for The Athletic that a couple of unnamed executives believed Tarik Skubal could be moved at the trade deadline, and that two usual suspects — the Dodgers and Orioles — could throw enough at the Tigers to convince them to make a trade. Nothing really came of those whisperings for a while after, and Jeff Passan went as far as to say that Skubal trade talk was "silly."

Well, maybe it actually isn't. Tom Verducci, writing for Sports Illustrated, confirmed that both teams, who have lost multiple starters to the IL this season and are bound to make it to the postseason, were "putting together packages loaded with top prospects for Skubal." Oh no.

Skubal would surely rake in heaps of top prospects, and those prospects could finally spell the end of the Tigers' everlasting rebuild. But he's also the first real ace the Tigers have possessed since Max Scherzer. He could be the one to bring a Cy Young to Detroit for the first time in over a decade. He's getting his first All-Star appearance this season in a Tigers' uniform.

Bowden said at the outset that the executives he spoke to believed that the Tigers could be swayed if they got an offer that blew them away. Unfortunately, the Dodgers and Orioles are two teams who are best primed to put exactly that kind of offer on the table.

Tarik Skubal rumors resurface with Dodgers, Orioles prepping to make huge offers to Tigers

Verducci threw some reassurance in for Tigers fans, writing, "The source said it is doubtful the Tigers move Skubal." However, to immediately undercut that reassurance, said source added, "Everything has a price." Super helpful, anonymous source.

Verducci likened a possible Skubal trade to the Nationals' trade of Juan Soto in 2022, which sent five prospects to Washington from San Diego. But therein lies the same risk the Tigers would be assuming if they traded Skubal. CJ Abrams is very good. Robert Hassell III hasn't made it out of the minors yet. James Wood was called up for his debut in July, but he has yet to really get hot. MacKenzie Gore has a 4.01 ERA this season. The Nats are performing a lot better than they were last year, but they're still sporting a .454 winning percentage and aren't likely to be in the Wild Card race. And that's a comparative haul; it doesn't usually work out that well.

Rebuilds take time and require sacrifices, but trading Skubal would mean sending away a homegrown Tiger and one of the only figures fans have wanted to root hard for in a long time. We should be talking about a possible extension more than a trade. But like Verducci's unhelpful anonymous source said, "Everything has a price."