Scott Harris responds to speculation of Tigers possibly trading Tarik Skubal

If you were waiting for a neon-sign answer on Tarik Skubal’s future, Scott Harris didn’t give you one. In the wake of a 15-inning gut-punch in Seattle that ended the Tigers’ ALDS in Game 5, Detroit’s president of baseball operations faced the inevitable question: would the club consider moving the best pitcher in the American League two winters from free agency?

Harris defaulted to the GM rulebook — no commenting on trade hypotheticals — but the subtext is where this story really lives. On one hand, that non-answer keeps all options alive. On the other, the same availability included Detroit positioning itself to pay for a long-term marriage with its ace. Both things can be true at once, and in October that ambiguity becomes oxygen for rumors. 

Scott Harris fuels Tarik Skubal trade talk with non-answer after Tigers’ exit

Let’s set the stakes. Skubal is the reigning 2024 AL Cy Young winner — a unanimous one at that, and he followed it with another dominance tour in 2025. He isn’t a free agent until after the 2026 season, which makes this the classic small-to-mid-market fork: extend an MVP-caliber arm at full freight or explore the nuclear option before the clock hits zero. Detroit’s window isn’t theoretical anymore; they’ve reached the divisional round in back-to-back seasons, and pulling the ace card off the table would fundamentally alter that trajectory. 

Here’s the quote everyone’s parsing. Asked directly by Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press about Skubal’s future, Harris said:

“I can’t comment on our players being traded. I can’t comment on free agents. I can’t comment on other teams’ players. I’m going to respond by just not actually commenting on it.” 

That sounds like a dodge because it is one; it’s also standard operating procedure in October. Crucially, in the same media window Harris called Skubal “the best pitcher in baseball,” said he hopes Skubal wins a second Cy Young, and emphasized ownership will provide resources for a long-term deal. Those aren’t the words of an executive eager to sell high; they’re the markers of a front office preparing fans for the cost of keeping an ace. 

So what does it actually mean? Practically, it means Detroit will run two tracks this winter. Track one: test the extension market, where left-handed, in-prime aces don’t take discounts and the commitment will be massive. Track two: listen, quietly, because that’s what disciplined clubs do, especially with one year of control left and a farm system capable of absorbing targeted, major-league-ready returns if the extension math is too high. The Tigers just played 15 innings of October baseball on the road; they’re not rebuilding, and any conversation that doesn’t keep 2026 contention intact should be a non-starter. 

If Detroit truly believes Skubal won’t re-sign, waiting until he’s months from free agency to act would be malpractice. But that’s a hypothetical future, not today’s plan. Today’s plan, reading Harris at face value is to pay, to compete, and to keep the clubhouse’s competitive spine in place while they figure out why a 2025 division lead vanished and how the offense can better support elite pitching next October.