Passan: Tigers want to trade Tarik Skubal

Skubal is sitting one strikeout shy of 1,000 for his career and told reporters that he wants to accomplish the feat in front of the Detroit fans. This could wind up being his final start in a Tigers uniform with the club continuing to fade from playoff contention and trade rumors swirling. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported earlier on Tuesday that the belief around the league is that Detroit wants to trade Skubal, but they’re going to be seeking a substantial return. The 29-year-old fantasy ace is the biggest potential domino to watch ahead of next week’s trade deadline.

Expressing an interest and being willing to meet the likely high asking prices are two separate things, but it’s interesting to note that the Rays are looking to be aggressive, especially when it comes to pitching. According to Murray, any additional starter the Rays bring in wouldn’t necessarily mean Griffin Jax or Ian Seymour are out of the rotation. Instead, the Rays are looking for pitching depth to help offset innings and injury concerns surrounding Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen. The team could decide to use a six man rotation or occasionally skip starts in order to keep those guys healthy for the playoffs. Considering Peralta is a free agent at the end of the season, he would be the most likely target of the trio.

The Royals mounted little opposition here, mustering a double and walk to leadoff the third inning before bunting the runners into a pair of Skubal strikeouts. They eventually got on the board via a RBI double from Nick Loftin, but Skubal allowed just five hard-hit balls on 91 pitches and had an absurd 45 percent whiff rate. We’ve got no real reason to assume he’ll be moved before his next start, which tentatively is set to be against the Orioles on Wednesday. Fantasy managers, obviously, will keep firing up Skubal regardless of what happens.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Brewers will get either player — or that either player will be traded at all — but it’s a notable shift from Milwaukee’s usual deadline strategy. “I’ve been on the phone a lot,” Brewers president of baseball told McCalvy. “We’re definitely active.” The Brewers are clearly looking to snag a bye in the National League playoffs. Skubal’s availability seems to come and go as the Tigers win and lose games — it sounds like if a Skubal deal does come it’ll be one that happens on August 3, the actual day of the deadline.

In what very likely could be one of — if not the — final starts as a member of the Tigers, Skubal was brilliant. He allowed five hits that were all singles, and he generated an impressive 19 swings-and-misses over 87 pitches. It lowers his ERA to 2.83 on the season, and improves his K/BB to 98/11. Recent reports have Skubal more likely to be traded than sticking around Detroit past the deadline, but for now, the 29-year-old will get the nod again against the Royals on Friday.

It makes sense given that the Tigers are five games out of the AL Wild Card and Skubal is in the final year of his contract. The team will obviously give themselves a chance to claw back into the race, but if they are unable to, it’s logical to trade Skubal at the deadline rather than lose him for nothing in free agency. Passan notes that “whoever lands Skubal will pay an enormous price,” so he will certainly be the key name to watch over the next month.

Henry Bolte’s homer was the only damage tonight. Skubal gave up four additional hits but only one other hard-hit ball, and he generated 22 whiffs on 52 swings. He’s fanned exactly nine batters in three straight outings now, and he’ll take a 5-4 record and a 3.06 ERA into Sunday’s start at home against the Phillies.

Skubal was handed a four-run cushion before he even took the mound at Yankee Stadium and proceeded to carve through New York’s lineup, with a first-inning solo shot from Ben Rice accounting for the only hit he allowed over six frames. He piled up nine punchouts for the second consecutive start against the Yankees and boasts a 30/2 K/BB ratio across 22 1/3 innings since returning from elbow surgery. The 29-year-old fantasy ace is expected to be one of the central figures in trade deadline discussions over the coming weeks. He’ll face the Athletics in another home start on Tuesday.

Only one of the four hits Skubal gave up stayed in the yard. Paul Goldschmidt got him to lead off the game and then again in his next at-bat. Then, Jasson Domínguez did too on the ninth pitch of a great battle as the second-to-last batter Skubal would face. Besides those three homers, Skubal forced 21 swings-and-misses and looked completely elite for most of his outing. His velocity is on par where it’s always been, his stuff looked crisp, and his command was mostly on point. Those homers were weird, but he looks back to the ace we know. Next up is a two-start week with another date against the Yankees and then the Rangers with both starts on the road.

The star southpaw punched out eight batters in the contest while issuing only one free pass. He served up a solo homer to Randal Grichuk in the first inning that was tucked just inside the foul pole in left. The White Sox then scratched out a run against him in fifth and Junior Perez added a solo shot in the sixth. Skubal got 13 swings and misses on 94 offerings in the ballgame, posting a strong CSW of 35 percent. He’ll try once again to earn his fourth victory as he carries a 3.02 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and a 57/8 K/BB ratio (53 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s battle against the Yankees.