Tarik Skubal might not necessarily be clamoring to get out of Detroit just yet.
The Detroit Tigers ace Skubal has informed friends that he badly wants to stay with the team for the rest of the season, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported on Sunday. Nightengale adds that Skubal believes the Tigers have a legitimate shot of winning the World Series and that he has “zero appetite” to be moved ahead of the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline.
Skubal, 29, was drafted by the Tigers in 2018 and made his big-league debut for them in 2020. He has been with Detroit ever since then and has developed into the best starting pitcher in the AL (when healthy), winning back-to-back Cy Young Awards in 2024 and 2025.
Still, the Tigers are in a very difficult position right now with Skubal. The left-hander can become a free agent after the 2026 season following tense (and ultimately failed) negotiations with the team last offseason.
Detroit’s season was also on life support just a few weeks ago, making it seem like a no-brainer that they would move Skubal ahead of the trade deadline. But the Tigers have since improved their fortunes a bit by winning 9 of their last 12 games (though they are still 3.5 games back of a Wild Card spot at 44-52).
Regardless of Skubal’s wishes, his future might ultimately boil down to whether or not a team meets Detroit’s sizable ask in trade negotiations. As it stands right now, the most likely club to do so appears to be this National League behemoth.
