Tarik Skubal landing spots: Ranking all 30 teams by likelihood of acquiring Tigers ace at MLB trade deadline

Major League Baseball’s annual trade deadline is eight days away. Teams will have until July 30 to wheel and deal and assemble the best rosters they can for the stretch run. A cherished part of July’s mad season is the absurd conjecture that comes with it. Everyone has a trade idea, or an inkling of where this or that player will end up. Whether or not it makes sense or has the foggiest chance of happening is besides the point.

With that in mind, we here at CBS Sports wanted to usher in the trade deadline by ranking the potential landing spots for one of the top names on the trade market: Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal. Those those unaware or otherwise out of date, here’s what we recently wrote about Skubal in our trade deadline preview:

Skubal has developed into one of the best pitchers in the majors, and he’s going to receive American League Cy Young Award consideration barring two possible developments: 1) he hurts himself and misses significant time down the stretch; or 2) he gets traded to the National League at the deadline. Mind you, it’s no sure thing that the Tigers seriously consider moving him. Some of the sources we spoke to for this piece believe the Tigers are likely to hold on to Skubal for at least the rest of this season, envisioning him still being part of their next playoff-caliber roster. Fair play, and that’s why he’s listed as No. 2 here instead of No. 1. Still, do be aware that he’s closing in on free agency (winter 2026) a lot sooner than the Tigers might like given their uncompetitive state.

Below, you’ll find all 30 teams ranked in ascending order of their perceived likelihood of employing Skubal come Aug. 1, along with an explanation for why we’re high (or low) on their chances. As always, keep in mind that this is more of an art than a science. 

Tier 1: No chance

30. Oakland Athletics
29. Miami Marlins
28. Chicago White Sox
27. Colorado Rockies
26. Los Angeles Angels

The only way these teams will be involved with Skubal this month is if they face him in a game. There’s no reason to think any of the five will engage with the Tigers on a potential deal, let alone in a serious enough manner to have a shot at landing him. Let’s move on.

Tier 2: Wrong time

25. Toronto Blue Jays
24. Washington Nationals
23. Tampa Bay Rays
22. Cincinnati Reds

Here, we have a collection of teams who are on the rise or on the fall. The Nationals and Reds could maybe talk themselves into looking at Skubal this winter. The Blue Jays and Rays, meanwhile, are about to do some retooling — perhaps not to the extent that they enter multi-year rebuilds, mind you, but that’s probably enough to keep them away. 

Tier 3: Not a fit

22. Pittsburgh Pirates
21. Chicago Cubs
19. Houston Astros
18. Seattle Mariners
17. New York Mets
16. Milwaukee Brewers

By “not a fit” we mean they lack a vital component — competitiveness, finances, prospects, or needs. The Astros don’t have a great farm system, which will limit their ability to make meaningful additions this deadline. It’s hard to see the Pirates or Brewers ponying up based on what we know about their typical budgets. The Mariners, meanwhile, probably should focus their resources toward landing offensive upgrades. And so on.

Tier 4: American League Central

15. Cleveland Guardians
14. Minnesota Twins
13. Kansas City Royals

Would the Tigers really care about moving Skubal within the division if said team is offering them the best return? Probably not. But some teams still have hang-ups about making large intradivisional trades. Besides, we doubt any of these teams would be serious threats even if they were located in a different league or a different division.

Tier 5: Fun to think about, albeit unlikely

12. Boston Red Sox
11. San Francisco Giants
10. Philadelphia Phillies
9. Arizona Diamondbacks
8. Texas Rangers
7. St. Louis Cardinals

Now we’re cooking. Adding Skubal to any of these teams is an intriguing proposition. Can you imagine the Phillies trotting out some combination of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, and Skubal in a postseason series? Good luck. Even so, we think these clubs will focus their energy elsewhere — either because of a greater need, a lack of resources, or because it just doesn’t make enough sense for them to give serious pursuit. 

Let’s move on now to the five teams we think have an actual shot at landing Skubal.

The serious contenders

6. Atlanta Braves

The Braves make a lot of sense for Skubal in multiple respects. They’re likely to be the best National League team who didn’t win their division, meaning the pressure will be on the middle to back part of their rotation if they advance beyond the wild-card round. Not only are the Braves without Spencer Strider for the rest of the season, they could lose Max Fried (who is also currently hurt) to free agency and Charlie Morton to retirement this winter. Skubal would slot in nicely alongside Chris Sale and a returning Strider heading forward. The Braves’ farm system isn’t on the level of some of the teams we’ll mention later on, but it’s probably better than you realize. Would a package involving some combination of AJ Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep, Nacho Alvarez, Drake Baldwin, and/or Owen Murphy get it done? Maybe not. But Alex Anthopoulos is always creative, always aggressive, and always attempting to improve his team’s World Series odds. If we’re a little too high on their chances, so be it.

5. San Diego Padres

As with the Braves, the Padres don’t have the same caliber of farm system as the teams ahead of them. What they do have is A.J. Preller, who has shown time and again that he’s willing to wheel and deal for a star player. We’re not sure if even Preller can pull off a Skubal trade — he might, in turn, focus his efforts on Garrett Crochet — but is it that difficult to imagine him floating some combination of Ethan Salas, Leodalis De Vries, Dylan Lesko, and/or Robby Snelling? Not to us, not based on Preller’s history. 

4. New York Yankees

The Yankees rotation, a strength earlier in the year, has let them down as of late. In turn they would be silly not to check in on Skubal. The Yankees could build a package around coveted outfielder Spencer Jones (who they were unwilling to move over the winter), as well as right-hander Chase Hampton, and/or some of their promising low-level arms. Of course, the Yankees could also use some offensive help, suggesting they may not be willing to go all-in to land Skubal.

3. Baltimore Orioles
2. Los Angeles Dodgers

We’re pairing the Orioles and Dodgers together because they’re a lot alike. Both have an abundance of prospects they could throw Detroit’s way; both have legitimate World Series aspirations that would be aided by Skubal; and both would be able to afford him beyond this year. (The Orioles’ books are largely free of long-term salary obligations and the Dodgers are, well, the Dodgers.) We put the Dodgers ahead of the Orioles because they’ve reliably been more aggressive at cashing in prospects for established stars. The Orioles did go and get Corbin Burnes this spring, however, and it’s worth wondering what role (if any) new owner David Rubenstein might play in Baltimore’s deadline plans as he tries to deliver a World Series to his hometown.

1. Detroit Tigers

Other front offices we’ve spoken with this month believe a Skubal trade is unlikely at the deadline. The Tigers, they say, believe that they can compete before Skubal’s team control runs out. As such, they would like to keep him at least into the winter and see where they stand heading into next season. Could Detroit’s plans change? Or could the Tigers simply be posturing ahead of making a deadline deal? Certainly. But we’re inclined to think there’s something to it. 

Remember, it’s been nearly a decade since the Tigers last made the postseason. Trading their ace, with two-plus years of team control remaining, would all but ensure that said playoff drought extends a few more seasons. The Tigers have a relatively new front office in place — president of baseball operations Scott Harris is in his second full season; general manager Jeff Greenberg is in his first — and the sins of the past cannot be blamed on them. 

Still, we think the Tigers are going to wait on a Skubal trade until it’s necessary, and we don’t think that they’ve reached that point as of yet.