Barring a drastic turnaround in Detroit, Tarik Skubal will very likely be traded over the next two-plus months before the deadline.
Recent reports suggested that the four frontrunners would be the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, and San Diego Padres. While those big-market powerhouses all make plenty of sense and could absolutely land Skubal, insider Jon Heyman has his eyes on the Chicago Cubs as the team to make the move.
He referenced their strong farm system and Scott Harris’ familiarity with Jed Hoyer and the Cubs organization.
“So my number one team to trade for Skubal is the Cubs… They’ve lost Cade Horton, obviously their number one pitcher, and to me, that makes the most sense for a trade with Skubal. I’ve heard they are a team floating around a bit — not going to say how much they’ve talked to the Tigers. But we do know that the President of Baseball Operations for the Tigers, Scott Harris, used to be with the Cubs, so he certainly knows Jed Hoyer well, knows their system probably better than most, and their system is pretty good. So the Cubs are my number one fit. We shall see, no guarantees here,”
The 29-year-old Skubal is a pending UFA playing on the one-year, $32 million contract he inked with the Tigers after winning his arbitration case back in February.
Chicago could certainly use another arm atop their rotation, and an ace like Skubal would fit perfectly.
The Cubs currently have three of MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects in Jefferson Rojas (83), Pedro Ramirez (85), and Jaxon Wiggins (88). Pair some of those prospects with a young major league player or two who were recently top prospects themselves, and Chicago could certainly put together a compelling offer for Detroit.
It won’t be easy to beat out the likes of the Dodgers and Yankees in a potential bidding war; nonetheless, the Cubs will undoubtedly be a team to watch in the Skubal sweepstakes leading up to the August 3 trade deadline.
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