BREAKING NEWS: Detroit Tigers Trade 2-Time Cy Young Winning ACE Tarik Skubal
UPDATE AUGUST 2, 2026: TARIK SKUBAL TRADED!
The Detroit Tigers traded back to back AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Detroit lands Top 100 prospects Zyhir Hope and River Ryan, along with RHP Brady Smith.
This changes the future of the Tigers franchise.
Published Thursday, July 30, 2026:
The word around the baseball world was that the Detroit Tigers had not decided whether to trade ace Tarik Skubal to improve their ball club.
Then came the collapse to the Baltimore Orioles. The 10-9 loss jarred the front office and suddenly Skubal trade rumors are the hottest topic in baseball.
Sometimes you win by losing. I am confident the Tigers will trade Skubal before Monday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline as they should.
The Tigers must become sellers because they have no shot at winning the World Series and a miniscule shot of even making the playoffs. The optimistic keep telling us that the Tigers (51-58) are only four games out of the final wildcard spot to make the playoffs. They are only 4 ½ games behind the Cleveland Indians for the AL Central lead.
I only have one question for them. Have you seen the Tigers bullpen? To call it pathetic is being kind.
Skubal was cruising along with a 7-1 lead with two outs in the seventh inning. He wasn’t his best but the Orioles had few answers for him. We can criticize manager A.J. Hinch for removing Skubal. I won’t.
He should trust his bullpen to hold a six run lead the final two innings of a game. Hinch might have been better off putting a position player on the mound.
This crushing loss is not on Hinch. It is on the pathetic state of this ball club. It is an indictment of a team that has no chance of going anywhere.
“There is a lot of stuff going on around me which I have no control over,” Skubal told reporters after the game.
That is not true. Skubal could have total control over the situation if he chose to. He could tell the Tigers he wants to negotiate a contract exclusively with them. He could tell them that whatever contract his agent Scott Boras negotiates with another team, he will give the Tigers an opportunity to match.
But he won’t do that because the goal here is to finish with the most lucrative contract in baseball with another team. Skubal knows the Tigers don’t want to swim in the deep waters of sharks that include the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees.
The Tigers have convinced us all that they are a small market team. They act like a small market team and we have all taken the bait. The last time I checked the Ilitch family made $3.8 billion in a year when you combine all their holdings in gaming, sports and real estate.
The Tigers can afford to get into the Skubal sweepstakes. They choose not to.
So, when they say they cannot compete for Skubal’s services we let them off the hook instead demanding them to fight.
“Right now, I am a Detroit Tiger,” Skubal said. “I don’t want to speculate on what the future holds because I don’t know.”
I do.
He gone.
