RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesThe Detroit Tigers traded ace pitcher Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, Aug. 1. That was two days before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, two days the Tigers could have spent fielding more competitive offers for the top trade target in baseball.
Why didn't they wait longer to trade him?
ESPN's Jeff Passan answers that question in his latest article published on Friday, Aug. 7, outlining why the Tigers chose the Dodgers' trade package of outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-handed pitcher River Ryan and right-handed pitcher Brady Smith over those from other teams. And, more interestingly, why the Tigers traded Skubal earlier than many teams anticipated.
Why George Kirby got the Tigers to move quickly
The crux of the issue centered around Seattle Mariners starter George Kirby, a 2023 All-Star who has gone 8-9 with a 3.76 ERA over 127 innings in 2026. Since Kirby has one more year of team control than Skubal, the Tigers were worried teams with top packages would pivot away from negotiating for the two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner.
"The Tigers knew they were primed to land a haul of talent for what amounted to 10 regular season starts by Skubal and, best-case scenario, five more in the postseason − and they feared if they waited too long, their best options could opt for a pitcher like Kirby with multiple years of control and potentially collapse the Skubal market," Passan wrote. "Such fears, according to conversations with more than a dozen people directly involved in the Skubal discussions, were well-founded. Teams were reluctant to stake their entire deadline on the possibility of acquiring Skubal, lest they find themselves on the losing end and reach 6:01 p.m. empty-handed."
The Mariners, who traded starting pitcher Luis Castillo to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, Aug. 2, ended up holding on to Kirby. But there were still plenty of teams negotiating with the Tigers for Skubal.
According to Passan, the Tigers passed on the Tampa Bay Rays ' offer when the Rays refused to include outfielder Theo Gillen, MLB Pipeline's No. 9 overall prospect, in a potential deal. The New York Yankees didn't offer up No. 20 overall prospect George Lombard Jr., and the Milwaukee Brewers didn't offer No. 1 overall prospect Jesús Made or the team's No. 3 prospect, Luis Lara.
Why the Dodgers' package won out
Milwaukee's package, which featured infielder Luis Peña (Pipeline's No. 18 overall prospect) plus two other players, was reportedly considered alongside Los Angeles', according to Passan. But the Dodgers' offer, despite Hope ranking lower on many prospect lists than Peña, won out thanks to the inclusion of an MLB-ready starter in Ryan.
"Adding [Ryan] to a rotation that already features a pair of young, controllable starters with triple-digit fastballs [Troy Melton and Jackson Jobe], plus [Framber] Valdez and the returning Reese Olson or Keider Montero, sounded awfully appealing to the Tigers," Passan wrote. "Pair the rotation and outfield with an infield that includes a rookie All-Star shortstop in [Kevin] McGonigle, an All-Star catcher in his prime in [Dillon] Dingler and a near-big-league-ready group ... and it becomes easier to understand the appeal of the Dodgers' package."
According to Passan, the Tigers then used the extra time before the Monday deadline to focus on trading right-handed starter Casey Mize, who went to the San Diego Padres in a last-minute deal. The Tigers also held on to other veterans on expiring deals like second baseman Gleyber Torres, starting pitcher Jack Flaherty and closer Kenley Jansen with the hopes of competing for an AL wild card spot.
And though the odds of Detroit making the postseason are still pretty low even after winning seven of eight games, the Tigers now find themselves just one game back in the wild card race entering Friday. Detroit has already shown they have made the playoffs following a sell-off in 2024 – can they do it again without Skubal and Mize in the rotation?
You can reach Christian at [email protected] .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why did Tigers traded Tarik Skubal so early? An ESPN report explains
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