RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. In a July 29 appearance on SportsCenter, ESPN's Jeff Passan asserted something that's become obvious even outside the baseball industry: the Detroit Tigers will trade reigning two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
What's more, Passan said the trade would go down July 30 or July 31.
“Tarik Skubal is gonna be traded," Passan said. "The Tigers haven’t gone to teams that are interested in him, and said as much at this point, but the expectation is that it’s going to happen in the next day or two."
Not so fast — literally and figuratively.
Jim Bowden, speaking on the GM Territory show July 30, sees only one reason why a Skubal trade should happen so quickly.
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"As a former GM, it makes no sense to me why you would rush the trade, unless the trade is getting absolutely everything they want for Tarik Skubal," Bowden said. "Because otherwise, there's a reason they have a deadline … you want to take advantage of that leverage. When you have the best pitcher on the market to trade — and they have the best two I would argue with Skubal and (Casey) Mize , why would you do it three or four days before the deadline unless you're getting everything you want?
"Otherwise wait til Sunday or Monday," Bowden concluded. "Make all the five or six GMs in on Skubal, make them sweat it out."
Skubal, 29, is 7-5 with a 2.79 ERA in 16 starts this season. After making what might have been his final start as a Tiger on July 29, no player is likely to have a bigger impact on the 2026 regular season and/or postseason than Skubal.
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A free agent at the end of the season, Skubal isn't going to sign a long-term extension to stay in Detroit. With a 51-58 record through July 29, the Tigers can miss the postseason without Skubal just as well as they can with him.
All signs point to Skubal being traded. In spite of Passan's optimism that the situation will resolve quickly, Bowden presents a compelling reason why the Tigers — and fans — will have to wait through the weekend to learn where Skubal will finish the season.
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