Tigers fans not falling for latest panic-driven Tarik Skubal trade rumor speculation

The Winter Meetings are getting underway in Orlando this week, and the Detroit Tigers have done little to silence the rumors surrounding a potential trade of Tarik Skubal. While the Tigers haven't directly said they are shopping the two-time Cy Young Award winner, the fact that they haven't come out and said he is off limits could be a telling sign.

Skubal almost certainly will lead the conversation this week, and ESPN's Buster Olney shared some intel that would suggest a trade might actually happen. Speaking to the team at Just Baseball, the MLB insider revealed that someone he spoke with believes Detroit will move Skubal before the start of the season.

The premise was that the Tigers would forgo the last season of contending with Skubal at the top of their rotation in exchange for prospects who would each arrive with 6+ years of control. Olney points to a team like the Baltimore Orioles, who might be willing to make that deal, considering they've previously done it with the Milwaukee Brewers and Corbin Burnes.

That said, Tigers fans aren't buying it. Maybe it's because they truly feel the front office is better than this. Maybe it's pure denial. But the mentions seemed to be in unison.

On the eve of the Winter Meetings, the idea of a Tarik Skubal trade appears to be gaining momentum

To no surprise, Olney also confirmed that the Tigers have an astronomical asking price for Skubal, and not every team will be willing to match it, considering the inevitability of him hitting free agency next offseason.

In a general baseball theory, it makes sense. If the Tigers know they aren't going to be re-signing Skubal, then conventional wisdom would suggest trading him before they essentially lose for nothing other than a comp pick next winter. But what the theory lacks is the fact that the Tigers are in the middle of their contention and, after finishing the 2025 season a game away from reaching the ALCS, have yet to show anything from it.

As much as trading Skubal would undoubtedly brighten their long-term outlook and dramatically improve their farm system, it would all but close their window of contention. An end that would be dissatisfying and question whether the front office will ever be allowed to push all their chips to the middle of the table.

Olney's intel was only the first tidbit of what will surely be an ever-changing narrative surrounding Detroit this week. That said, they are completely to blame for his nonsense, as they have refused to put a definitive end to the rumors.