Passan: Dodgers are the favorite for Skubal

Passan added that Detroit will begin to engage with interested teams in the next day or two. Skubal recorded his 1,000th career strikeout while punching out six and allowing three runs over 6 2/3 innings against the Orioles on Wednesday in what appears to be his final start in a Tigers uniform. The back-to-back Cy Young Award winner left the game with Detroit ahead 7-0, but they still wound up losing to drop four and a half games out of the final AL Wild Card spot. The general consensus, according to Passan, is that the Dodgers and Brewers are the clear frontrunners in the Skubal sweepstakes since they have the volume of prospects and big-league talent to facilitate a deal. Every contending team in baseball should be reaching out to try to land Skubal.

Skubal struck out six and walked one, throwing 92 pitches. He nearly escaped with only one run allowed, but Kyle Finnegan let two inherited runners score. Skubal remains the jewel of Monday’s trade deadline, so this very well might’ve been his final start with the Tigers. Detroit led 7-0 before losing 10-9 in 12 innings, dropping to 51-58 on the season. He began the game by striking out Taylor Ward for the 1,000th K of his career. It remains to be seen who he’ll be pitching for in his next appearance.

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.

The bigger question, according to Passan, is “can they trade Tarik Skubal?” The Tigers want to remain competitive and are not looking for prospects who may take a long time to join the MLB roster, which could make finding a trade partner a bit more complicated. Plenty of teams are interested in Skubal, and it seems that the Tigers are motivated to get a deal done, but some team is going to have to present the perfect combination of players that Detroit simply can’t turn down.

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.