Tigers insider casts doubt upon Scott Harris' ability to do a Tarik Skubal trade justice

If Scott Harris was asked about the brewing Tarik Skubal trade rumors right now, Tigers fans can guess what he would say. It would be something like, "Right now, I'm focused on how this team can get back to winning," completely skirting the question, but we'd bet he would also throw in a favorite Harris-ism: "I can't do my job without listening."

That was Harris' and the Tigers' line during Winter Meetings and throughout the offseason, and it was like throwing chum into shark infested waters. We may never know how close Skubal actually came to getting traded this past winter, but he might've gotten pretty close, depending on who you believe.

Circumstances are already different now, though. The Tigers didn't have to trade Skubal in the winter, but they may get to a point where they basically have to at the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

But is Harris the man for the job?

Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, in a mailbag almost exclusively dedicated to the assumption that the Tigers become sellers at the deadline, was a little skeptical. He pointed out that Harris' track record with trades since joining the Tigers is underwhelming or mediocre at best, and potentially disastrous at worst. Harris also isn't known to be the most well-liked executive in baseball, with multiple insiders reporting that other front offices don't like to deal with him.

A potential Tarik Skubal trade would define Scott Harris' tenure as Tigers' president of baseball operations

Obviously, Harris' 2025 trade deadline was an absolute mess, even if he'll never own up to that himself. 2024 was a little more acceptable; the Thayron Liranzo-Trey Sweeney return for Jack Flaherty was more or less fine. But that may still be his most significant deal to date.

Besides, even if he did have more of a history of navigating bigger trades, nothing could compare to Skubal. And to be fair to Harris, there are very few front office men who fans suspect would be able to pull it off. Andrew Friedman, AJ Preller, maybe Dave Dombroski.

Ultimately, if the Tigers have to trade Skubal, not everyone can or will be pleased with whatever return Harris manages to net. Watching our ace get vultured away by a big-market team is going to hurt regardless of who comes back in the deal, and that's inevitably going to color our reactions.

But Harris does have the chance to soften the blow by negotiating for a return that would hurt the least. It might be a delicate, near-impossible balance to strike, but Harris' tenure with the Tigers might depend on him pulling it off.

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