Tigers Rumors: Tarik Skubal free agency buzz might validate trade deadline decision

When the Tigers front office traded Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize, they leveled a challenge at their team: prove you can win without them.

And they have been, for the most part. They're 7-6 since the trade deadline, which is actually better than the 6-7 Dodgers can say. For the most part, the offense is still clicking. Jackson Jobe and Troy Melton got knocked around during the White Sox series, but the rotation isn't nearly as desperate as the rest of baseball expected when Skubal and Mize left.

They could certainly use upgrades from Drew Anderson and Jack Flaherty going into 2027, though. The free agent market is looking to be pretty thin this offseason but, of course, there's Skubal and Mize.

There's a possibility that the Tigers re-sign Mize the same way they did Flaherty after dealing him to the Dodgers in 2024. But the only real contenders for Skubal, according to Bob Nightengale, are the Mets and the Dodgers.

Tigers fans always knew this was the case. Despite Skubal's public pronouncement of his hope the Tigers will be involved in his free agency, there's little chance they're even involved, much less make him an offer. They simply won't be able to afford him.

Bob Nightengale tells Tigers fans what they already know about Tarik Skubal's free agency

Skubal's market is sure to move fast; he reportedly hopes to sign a deal before the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires on Dec. 1. That way, whatever contract he signs could be grandfathered in under the current rules, in the event the owners get their way with a salary cap. Free agents who don't sign by Dec. 1 risk being left out in the cold for months, most likely with very little time to negotiate and sign after a lockout ends.

The Dodgers are clearly the best position to get in the door first. If they haven't already had preliminary conversations with Scott Boras, no doubt things will begin in earnest the second their season comes to an end.

No one in Detroit will be surprised to inevitably learn that the Tigers never even called Boras to check on the state of Skubal's market. They know we can't afford him; we know they can't afford him. Trading him and getting as much value back as they could was the only real option, because losing him at the end of the season with only a draft pick to show for it would've been unacceptable.

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