Writing is on the wall for Tigers-Tarik Skubal trade, but where does his value stand?

The Tigers have subjected us to a lot of whiplash already this season, and their last few days are the perfect example.

They lost a series to the Astros in truly mortifying fashion on Sunday, and then they put up a four-spot against the Yankees with a few gritty at-bats and some heads-up baserunning for a win on Monday. In other words, they'll look like the 2019 Tigers one minute, and then the 2024 Tigers the next.

The American League is still wide-open to the point that we can't fully rule out a comeback (which is both heartening and infuriating), but it's impossible for the pessimists among us not to start seeing the writing on the wall: the Tigers have very little time to turn things around before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, and it's pretty likely that they don't.

Last we heard, the Tigers are still in "we're-not-trading-Tarik-Skubal" mode, but we wouldn't be surprised if Scott Harris is privately prepping for the opposite.

So where does Skubal's value stand now that he's made a few starts since coming back from the IL and the clock is ticking down on the season?

Checking in on Tarik Skubal's market as Tigers continue to slip down standings

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com wrote about the Tigers' (obvious) potential impact at the trade deadline not just by dangling Skubal, but a number of other pieces of the roster. "They have to move Skubal; there's no way around it," an AL executive said. "They will set that franchise back 10 years if they don't. He's gone at the end of the year regardless, and they can pull major league assets back."

Okay, 10 years? That may be an exaggeration. But ultimately we understand the sentiment; it's move it or lose it.

The longer Harris waits, the more leverage he loses, the longer Skubal has to hurt his own trade value. He's pitched three starts since returning — 16 1/3 innings, 4.96 ERA. Whether or not he's still batting away a few cobwebs or something harder to figure out is going on under the surface has yet to be seen, but that's the kind of uncertainty a buying team wouldn't love.

The Tigers could still get a considerable haul back for Skubal. Certainly not the Juan Soto-esque package they were reportedly looking for in the offseason, but a major league starter, a major league-ready bat, and a prospect from further down in the pipeline isn't out of the cards at all. Yet.

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