Tigers sweeping Rays just allowed them to regain control of Tarik Skubal narrative

The Detroit Tigers may have changed the course of their season to start the month of June. A sweep of the AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays was not only unforeseen, but shocking. These were the Tigers most fans expected to see much of this season. The team that's blown over 20 leads — good for the most in all of baseball — has been reborn, albeit with some strings attached.

Detroit remains well behind the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central. They're still six games back of the Athletics for the final AL Wild Card spot. The Tigers are within reach, sure, but it's far too early to declare them 'back,' much like it was too soon to assume Scott Harris would willingly hand Tarik Skubal to another team at the MLB trade deadline. On the latter point, a sweep of one of the best teams in MLB has at least paused the momentum around a Skubal trade for now.

Will the Tigers still trade Tarik Skubal?

Per Buster Olney of ESPN, the Tigers aren't set on trading Skubal, especially after sweeping the Rays to start this week.

That could all change depending on how the next two months go for the Tigers. If they're able to get back into the AL Wild Card race, then why sell? When healthy, Detroit has one of the more talented rosters in the American League and a back-to-back Cy Young winner spearheading their starting rotation.

I'm not in the prediction market, but what this week's sweep of the Rays accomplished more than anything else is putting the Tigers back in the driver's seat, especially as it pertains to Skubal's future.

Tigers control Tarik Skubal's destiny

What's most important for Scott Harris and the Tigers front office is that they, at least for now, no longer feel pressured to trade Skubal elsewhere. That could very well be the end result, but the decision is on the Tigers timeline, rather than the MLB calendar or merely based on the offers they receive.

This offseason, the Tigers built a team they felt could take advantage of Skubal's final year under contract. So far that hasn't come to fruition, in part because of an injury to the ace himself. Detroit's dreadful May spun a popular narrative that had been brewing under the surface since this winter: If the Tigers can't make the playoffs, then they should trade Skubal somewhere he can compete, even if only for half a season.

As recently as last week, Skubal was on every trade list, with pundits ranking landing spots and presuming there was no chance the Tigers would hold onto him. Doing so would forfeit the chance for Detroit to land a prospect haul. That all changed in a hurry. The Tigers have another chance to prove their worth over the weekend against the Seattle Mariners, the same team that ended Skubal's 2025 season.

A series win against a surging Seattle team, paired with the looming return of Skubal, could be exactly what the Tigers need to take off — and change the narrative around Detroit's trade deadline plans altogether.

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