The Brewers had a real shot to get involved in the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes, but Milwaukee drew a hard line with Detroit, and that helped explain why the Tigers never landed there.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Brewers made it clear they would not include 19-year-old shortstop Jesus Made, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, in any package for the Cy Young winner. And that wasn’t the only name Milwaukee refused to move.
Passan wrote, "Accordingly, the Brewers' list of untouchables went beyond Made," Passan writes. "They wouldn't move shortstop Cooper Pratt or outfielder Luis Lara, both of whom signed long-term contracts before their major league debuts. Right-hander Logan Henderson, with five more years of club control, was off-limits as well."
That group of four essentially shut the door on a deal.
Made was always going to be the biggest barrier. Trading the top prospect in baseball for what would have been a short-term run at Skubal was a steep price, and Milwaukee clearly wasn’t willing to go that far. But the Brewers also held firm on three other young pieces that matter a lot to their future.
Lara, 21, has already reached the majors and has posted a .678 OPS in 21 big league games. At Triple-A this season, he put up a .902 OPS in 78 games.
Pratt, also 21, has hit .289 with a .761 OPS in the majors this year and, like Lara, signed a long-term deal before his debut. Henderson, 24, has given Milwaukee a strong run in the rotation, going 6-2 with a 2.70 ERA and 62 strikeouts over 50 innings in 10 starts.
So while Milwaukee had interest and did get into the Skubal discussion, the price it was willing to pay never lined up with what Detroit needed. The Dodgers ended up landing Skubal, and the Brewers pivoted to Dustin May instead.
In the end, Milwaukee’s stance makes sense on paper. Made is the best prospect in the sport, Pratt and Lara are already locked in, and Henderson has too much value and control remaining to be treated like a rental chip. The Brewers were in the chase, but those four players made sure they never got all the way there.
In Other News...
Tarik Skubal Just Reopened A Huge Tigers Question
Tarik Skubals move to the Dodgers closed one chapter for Detroit, but it also kept an old question hanging in the air about just how long the Tigers would be part of his future. In a recent podcast interview, the left-hander spoke about how hard it was to leave the Tigers after the Aug. 1 trade and reflected on what the organization meant to him, even as he turned his attention to chasing a World Series in Los Angeles.
What makes the conversation linger for Tigers fans is the hint that this may not be the final word on his Detroit story. Skubal said there could be room for talks to pick back up after the postseason, which leaves open a path, however narrow, for the kind of reunion teams and players almost never talk about once a trade like this has gone through. For now, the Tigers are left with the emotional reminder of what they gave up, and the possibility that the biggest question around Skubal is still sitting there for later. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Smith Is Giving Tigers Fans A Reason To Revisit That Trade
Brady Smith is starting to look like the kind of arm that can make a trade haul feel a little more intriguing with time. The 21-year-old right-hander came to Detroit in the Tarik Skubal deal, and after missing time with Tommy John surgery, he is putting together his first healthy pro season with real signs of progress. His command has sharpened, his secondary pitches are playing better, and Baseball America already has him sitting as the Tigers No. 15 prospect.
Smiths next step is a move to high Single-A West Michigan, where the challenge gets a little more serious and the eyes on him will only get more interested. For Detroit, the appeal is obvious: a young pitcher with a live arm, improving control and a track record that suggests there may still be another level to reach. It is the sort of development path that can quietly alter how a trade is remembered, especially when the player in question is still just getting started. [Read more 🡒]