The trade deadline is closing in fast, and the Detroit Tigers are in the kind of spot that forces a hard look at everything on the roster. They look like buyers, which usually means the face of the franchise is off-limits. Tarik Skubal may be the exception.
Skubal, the reigning back-to-back Cy Young Award winner, has made it clear he wants to stay. He has never pitched anywhere else, and he wants to win with the team that drafted him. But with the front office still weighing its options, there’s no guarantee he’s still in Detroit after the deadline.
That uncertainty hangs over Wednesday afternoon’s start at Comerica Park against the Baltimore Orioles. If the Tigers do decide to move him, it could be his final outing in a Detroit uniform.
If that happens, the résumé he leaves behind is impossible to ignore.
Detroit took Skubal in the ninth round eight years ago, a pick that now looks like a steal. He moved quickly through the system, spending only about a season and a half in the minors before debuting in 2020. He was one of the rare pitchers who reached the majors without going through Triple-A.
Since then, especially after his breakout in 2024 and 2025, Skubal has become one of the most dominant arms in baseball. His postseason work in those two years has only added to that reputation.
His 2025 playoff run was his best yet. He followed a 2024 postseason in which he posted a 2.37 ERA by putting together a 1.74 ERA this year as the Tigers came up just short of the ALCS. Over 20.2 innings, he held opponents to a sub-.150 batting average and finished with a 0.68 WHIP.
Skubal is also on the cusp of another milestone. Since returning from elbow surgery, he has thrown 46.2 innings with 65 strikeouts, a 35.5% strikeout rate, a 2.70 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. He is one strikeout away from becoming the 17th Tiger in franchise history to reach 1,000.
The Tigers’ rotation is strong enough that this is not a simple call. Jack Flaherty and Framber Valdez have both had major ups and downs, and that could matter if Detroit is serious about making a run in October. The club also badly needs bullpen help, so the ideal outcome would be landing a couple of high-leverage arms without giving up the best pitcher on the roster.
For now, though, all anyone can do is wait. The deadline is almost here, and Skubal’s next start might be one to savor.
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The pitcher coming back will head to Double-A, where the Tigers can get a closer read on his development inside their system. In the bigger picture, the deal fits into a stretch where Detroit is weighing more than one piece of its future, and that makes the rest of the month worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Shaw Suddenly Feels Caught In A Cubs Crossroads
Spencer Torkelson keeps coming up in the kind of change-of-scenery conversation that follows young hitters who still feel unfinished. The former top pick has shown enough power to keep teams interested, but the overall production has not matched the expectation that came with his prospect status, and the Tigers have seen the ups and downs up close as he has tried to settle in at first base and in the middle of the lineup.
That is what makes the broader Cubs discussion worth watching from Detroits side, too. When a player like Matt Shaw is suddenly part of a larger roster crossroads, it can shift the way clubs think about infield depth, future fit and which young bats are actually blocked versus simply stalled, and those are the same questions that tend to circle back to Torkelson as the deadline chatter starts to build. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Just Sent A Troubling Deadline Signal Fans Can't Ignore
The Tigers have already started to show their hand before the trade deadline, and it came through a pitching shuffle that says plenty about how theyre thinking. By moving Casey Mize out of his scheduled spot and going with a bullpen game instead, Detroit created some extra room on the calendar and, just as important, some extra room in the front offices plans as the deadline approaches.
That kind of flexibility usually means the conversations are not limited to one name or one lane. Tarik Skubal remains the obvious headliner in any deadline discussion, but the Tigers also appear positioned to explore more than a single move, with Gleyber Torres among the players who could come up as the market takes shape. Nothing is done yet, but the setup suggests Detroit may be preparing for a busier finish than a simple one-for-one deal. [Read more 🡒]