Let’s clear something up for Tigers fans before the Tyler Glasnow chatter gets too loud: his recent comments about not being traded by the Dodgers don’t move the needle on the Tarik Skubal situation. Not for Detroit.
Not for L.A. And definitely not for Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris.
Glasnow’s remarks did more to debunk a flawed narrative than they did to clarify anything new. For weeks, the national conversation has been stuck on a simplistic loop: If the Dodgers want Skubal, then Glasnow has to be part of the deal. But that logic never really held up.
From Detroit’s side of the table, Glasnow was never a meaningful part of the Skubal equation. Why would he be?
We’re talking about a 29-year-old lefty who’s finished top five in Cy Young voting two years running, has one year of team control left, and is barreling toward a $400 million payday in free agency. That’s not a trade chip you use to bring in a 31-year-old pitcher with a long injury history and a hefty contract that runs through his mid-30s.
The Tigers aren’t in teardown mode, but they’re not a piece away from October baseball either. They’re in that awkward middle ground - competitive-ish, but not quite threatening.
And that makes the Skubal decision all about long-term value. If he’s moved, it’s not to plug a short-term hole.
It’s to reshape the roster with controllable, high-upside talent that fits a broader timeline.
Glasnow? He’s a win-now asset for a win-now team.
That’s why the Dodgers make sense for him. They’re built to chase titles today and deal with the fallout later.
The Tigers, on the other hand, are still trying to build a sustainable core. They’re managing a tight payroll, trying to avoid losing a star for a compensatory pick, and navigating a roster that’s still light on impact bats and bullpen arms.
So when Glasnow says the Dodgers told him he’s not going anywhere - and even adds that he hopes L.A. lands Skubal - it doesn’t change Detroit’s calculus. If anything, it underscores it.
The Tigers were never looking to swap one ace for another. They were - and still are - looking for a package built around elite prospects, cost control, and long-term upside.
Think high-ceiling position players. Think frontline pitching prospects.
Think multiple years of team control. That’s what it would take to pry Skubal loose, and Glasnow doesn’t check any of those boxes.
The reality is, this was never about a one-for-one swap. It was about whether the Dodgers were willing to meet Detroit’s price in future value - and whether Tigers ownership, led by Christopher Ilitch, would even greenlight a deal of that magnitude.
Because here’s the real variable in all of this: it’s not Glasnow. It never was. The real questions are whether Ilitch is ready to commit big money to extend Skubal, whether Harris is empowered to trade him at peak value, and whether the front office is ready to pick a direction - build around him, or cash in and reset the clock.
If Skubal stays in Detroit, it won’t be because Glasnow is off the table. It’ll be because the Tigers once again chose to sit on the fence - caught between going for it and rebuilding, without fully committing to either path.
And that’s what should really concern Tigers fans. Not what Glasnow said on the radio.
Not who the Dodgers are or aren’t willing to move. But whether Detroit is ready to make a bold decision - one way or the other - before the window closes.