Tigers' rumored approach with Tarik Skubal trade talks is just about as effective as it gets

Rumors and talks will undoubtedly persist, but it feels like we're out of the immediate danger zone on a Tarik Skubal trade.

The Mets sent top prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat — both players who would probably have been included in a Skubal trade — to the Brewers in exchange for Freddy Peralta. The Dodgers have said they're done adding pitching, and their overcrowded pitching staff makes us inclined to believe them. The Tigers reportedly told the Yankees plainly that they did not have what it would take to make a trade happen.

According to Jon Heyman, the Tigers "aren't naming their price." They're sitting back and letting the heavy hitters come to them with the best offer they can muster.

And that's the way it should be done. The Tigers are contenders. They're no longer rebuilding; they don't need to lower their bar out of desperation. They have all of the leverage. If the Dodgers, Mets, or Yankees want him, they'll have to be willing to gut their farm systems, give up a major leaguer or two on top, and grovel. That's exactly where we want them.

Scott Harris is (surprisingly) handling Tarik Skubal trade talks in exactly the right way

The price of starting pitchers on the trade market has slowly but surely crawled up throughout the offseason and came to a head when MacKenzie Gore went to the Rangers for five prospects. None were particularly remarkable, sure, and everyone was left feeling a little uninspired, but if one-time All-Star and career 4.19 ERA pitcher Gore can go for that many prospects, the Dodgers, Yankees, or Mets might as well just send their entire farm system in exchange for Skubal.

The longer the Tigers wait, of course, the less they're going to get back for him. If a trade doesn't happen this offseason, it probably won't until the Aug. 3 trade deadline. But if Detroit is in a playoff spot, or even within spitting distance of one by that point, they'll still be in a position where they can make buying teams grovel.

Maybe we have to take back some (just a little bit) of the Harris-related vitriol that we've built up over the offseason. Was it reassuring for him to say that he can't do his job if he doesn't listen on any player? No. Should Skubal be untouchable? Yes.

But at least he's making it really, really hard on everyone else. That's the only way this should go.