Tigers’ GM reveals final nail that led to Tarik Skubal trade, sell-off

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Tigers’ GM reveals final nail that led to Tarik Skubal trade, sell-off appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Scott Harris pinpointed the exact moment Detroit’s season shifted from contending to selling, and it traces back to one gut-wrenching loss. The Tigers’ president of baseball operations spoke with reporters for nearly 40 minutes following the blockbuster trade that sent Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers, revealing when the front office formally decided to become sellers ahead of the deadline.

Harris was specific about the timing, pointing to the aftermath of Detroit’s series finale against the Baltimore Orioles.

That July 29 game, which turned out to be Skubal’s final start in a Tigers uniform, encapsulated much of what went wrong for Detroit this season. Skubal was dominant through six innings, helping build a 7-0 lead, and left with a standing ovation from the Comerica Park crowd after allowing just one run.

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But the bullpen could not hold it. Baltimore stormed back, tying the game in the eighth before eventually winning 10-9 in 12 innings, an outcome that Harris indicated was the tipping point in the front office’s thinking.

The trade itself came together quickly after that. Detroit sent Skubal, the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner, to Los Angeles on August 1 in exchange for outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith. Harris had spent the better part of two seasons avoiding direct questions about Skubal’s future, repeatedly declining to guarantee the ace would not be moved as his path toward free agency narrowed.

The decision fits into a broader pattern of selloffs from Detroit as the deadline approached.

The Tigers had already designated catcher Jake Rogers for assignment days earlier, a move that visibly rattled the clubhouse given his close relationship with Skubal and his standing as one of the team’s most well-liked players. Outfielder Kerry Carpenter said afterward that the news left the team “pretty torn up.”

Detroit entered the weekend at 53-58, sitting two and a half games out of the final American League Wild Card spot but behind five teams in the standings. With Skubal now gone and the sell-off officially underway, the front office appears focused on building toward the future rather than chasing a long-shot playoff push in the season’s final two months.

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