Why Tigers shouldn’t regret asking Yankees for too much for Tarik Skubal in offseason

In light of Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal's elbow surgery, there have been some lamenting the fact that Detroit did not trade Skubal during the offseason when they could have. Now that he is likely to be out for a couple of months, the Tigers probably won't be able to trade him at the deadline.

The New York Yankees reportedly had interest in Skubal during the offseason. While the Tigers were reportedly asking for a ton in negotiations, they should not regret the fact that they held their ground.

Tigers were wise to hold their ground in Skubal talks with Yankees

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Tigers asked for Ben Rice, Cam Schlittler, and George Lombard Jr. in exchange for Skubal. That would have been one heck of a haul, but the Tigers had one heck of a trade chip on their hands in Skubal. The asking price was rightfully astronomical.

Rice would have been an awesome get for the Tigers and would have given them their first baseman of the future. He's hitting .303/.413/.667 with 13 home runs and 29 runs batted in through 39 games. With Spencer Torkelson struggling in a major way this season, the Tigers certainly wish they were getting more at first base.

As for Schlittler, he's simply been dominant for New York. He has a 1.35 ERA in nine starts, and there has even been AL Cy Young chatter around him, deservedly so. He could have been the ace to take Skubal's place.

And while George Lombard Jr. is still a prospect, he's shown a ton of promise in the minors and would have been a great piece to pair up the middle with Kevin McGonigle for the foreseeable future.

While many might have thought the Tigers trading away Skubal would have been them waving the white flag on the 2026 season, one could argue that the trade they wanted with the Yankees could have actually made them more competitive this season.

Alas, it did not come to fruition. The Tigers shouldn't feel bad, though. Even if Skubal departs in free agency this offseason and they end up getting nothing more than a draft pick or two by giving him a qualifying offer, they still held their own and made sure that they did not sell low on their ace.

They knew his value and weren't willing to settle for anything less, which is commendable. Now Detroit just has to hope Skubal can get healthy as soon as possible so the team can try for one final postseason charge with him as their ace.

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