Tarik Skubal has a message for the Detroit Tigers front office, and it is not subtle.
The two-time AL Cy Young winner addressed the upcoming Aug. 3 trade deadline after his most recent start, saying he wants the Tigers to be buyers, not sellers, as the club tries to make a run in the second half. Skubal has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since returning from left elbow surgery in June, and he made clear he believes this roster is good enough to compete.
"Hopefully the decision-makers see that we're a very good team and it's not sell at the deadline, it's add," Skubal said, per Jared Ramsey of the Detroit Free Press. "We've had some unlucky losses, beat ourselves up a bit, some injury stuff including myself."
The Tigers enter the All-Star break at 44-52 and fourth in the AL Central and 6.5 games behind the division leaders, the Chicago White Sox. Despite the record, Detroit has been one of the hottest teams in baseball since June, posting the best mark in the AL over that stretch.
Skubal, 29, returned from left elbow surgery in mid-June after missing roughly six weeks. Across 12 starts, he is 5-4 with a 3.06 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 84 strikeouts in 70 2/3 innings.
He is in a one-year, $32 million contract, represented by Scott Boras, and is expected to test free agency after the season. That makes him the Tigers' most valuable potential trade chip if management decides to sell.
USA TODAY Network
Skubal won back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards in 2024 and 2025, including the pitching Triple Crown in 2024 with an 18-4 record, 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts. He was drafted by Detroit in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Seattle University.
How GM Scott Harris responds to the deadline will determine whether Skubal finishes his Tigers career in Detroit or ends up somewhere else in October.
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