Tigers young core slowly coming together strengthens argument to extend Tarik Skubal

Something happened to the Tigers during their series against the Dodgers. Through two come-from-behind walk-off wins against LA, they just looked like they were having fun, which felt impossible during their 10-17 run in June. They got to go into the All-Star break with their heads held high, and that good feeling extended into their series against the Blue Jays, when they took two games from the rivals across the border.

There's something different about this team's mojo now. During the Blue Jays series, the Tigers hit grand slams in back-to-back games courtesy of Jake Rogers and Justyn-Henry Malloy. In their first game against the Guardians on Monday, Rogers was cheated out of a Little League home run on a trip around the bases that was ruled a triple and an error. In the second game, Zach McKinstry flashed some heads-up baserunning and stole a run for Detroit on an error by Cleveland first baseman Josh Naylor.

The vibes are good, but the Tigers are still 50-52 following their loss to the Guardians on Tuesday. It was an agonizing one, given how close the Tigers were to getting back to .500, but there are key components that are coming together.

The young players who management and the front office begged for patience with are really starting to come through. It might be too little, too late for this season, but there's a lot of potential here for a truly competitive Tigers team in 2025.

But this all hinges on Detroit not messing it up at the trade deadline by trading Tarik Skubal.

Detroit Tigers hitters finally coming through should be a sign to the front office to do what it takes to keep Tarik Skubal

Skubal put together another fantastic performance against the Guardians on Monday, when he went seven innings and gave up a season-high 10 hits but managed to keep the damage to just one run. His ERA dropped to 2.34, officially giving him the best ERA in the AL over Corbin Burnes and Seth Lugo.

Although trying to get Skubal to sign a extension would be taking on an uphill battle against agent Scott Boras, it would be a fight that's well worth it. Tigers hitters are showing that they can band together around Skubal, and that he's been just the right kind of motivator for them to win. If the team can add some more pitching in the offseason, they really could finally be on the right track toward competitiveness.

Even if they can't extend him, trading him isn't the answer. He still has two seasons of team control left, and Detroit should take advantage of them. Two more years with a Cy Young caliber pitcher sounds a lot better than betting on the nebulous futures of whatever prospects they might get back for him.