The Tampa Bay Rays have put themselves in a position to be aggressive before the MLB trade deadline, and Tarik Skubal is the kind of swing that would change the conversation around them.
At 59-42, Tampa Bay owns the best record in the American League. The Rays sit 2.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees in the AL East and seven games in front of the Boston Red Sox, so the motivation is obvious: add help now and make sure this run turns into something bigger.
Skubal has been one of the names tied to that push. The Detroit Tigers ace would give the Rays a major boost, and for a while Tampa Bay has been viewed as a dark horse in the race if Detroit seriously listens on its star pitcher.
But in the view of Will Sammon, Patrick Mooney and Katie Woo of The Athletic, there’s a team that fits Skubal even better: the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That makes sense on paper. Los Angeles has the prospect depth and the financial muscle to chase a pitcher of Skubal’s level, and if the Dodgers decide they want him, history says they usually get their man. The real question is whether they see the need to make that kind of move as they chase a third straight World Series title.
Tampa Bay won’t go quietly, though. The Rays don’t usually operate like a club that makes a rental splash, but they have shown they’ll do it when the timing feels right.
They brought in Nelson Cruz in 2021, when he was an All-Star, to help the lineup at designated hitter. And before Shohei Ohtani left the Los Angeles Angels in free agency for the Dodgers, the Rays made a serious run at him at the deadline, offering Junior Caminero and Carson Williams.
That kind of willingness is what keeps Tampa Bay in the mix. The Rays may not make a move like this often, but if they believe it meaningfully improves their chances, they’ll pay the price.
And if they landed Skubal, the rotation would suddenly look fearsome. A group featuring Drew Rasmussen, Nick Martinez and Shane McClanahan already has All-Star talent in it, and adding Skubal would give Tampa Bay one of the strongest starting staffs in baseball.
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Penei Sewell and Jahmyr Gibbs both stood out in those rankings, but the broader takeaway is even more striking for Detroit: a lot of the names carrying the roster are still very young. That makes the Lions easy to believe in for now, but it also leaves the real question hanging over the group as the season approaches, because talent at the top is one thing and proving that a younger core can absorb the loss of players like Alex Anzalone and Taylor Decker is another. [Read more 🡒]