Why Tarik Skubal should want to be traded by Tigers this season

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Why Tarik Skubal should want to be traded by Tigers this season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

After a terrible May, the Detroit Tigers are trending towards being trade deadline sellers with their awful 22-38 record. But if they sell, the big question will be what happens to Tarik Skubal.

The back-to-back Cy Young-winning ace is sure to draw plenty of interest, and the trade rumors surrounding Skubal have already begun to heat up. But, for Skubal, would he even welcome a trade?

Skubal should actually welcome a trade for a few reasons. Beyond the obvious of going from a team likely to miss the playoffs to a top contender, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic also shared a note on why a trade would be a win for Skubal after the 2026 season.

Why Tarik Skubal should welcome a trade from Tigers​

"A trade would yield greater projected value, though the return would be depressed by three factors: Skubal's status as a rental, the remaining portion of his $32 million salary he is owed, and his lack of eligibility for a qualifying offer as a player traded in the middle of a season," Rosenthal writes.

Those three factors for why a return in a trade might be limited for the Tigers bring one piece of good news for Skubal: his lack of eligibility for the qualifying offer.

Players who have a qualifying offer placed on them entering free agency typically will see a little less activity in their market, as any team that signs them would lose a valuable draft pick in the process.

MORE: Ex-MLB GM projects White Sox to sell at trade deadline despite 2026 success

However, if Skubal is traded, he wouldn't be eligible to receive the qualifying offer, meaning any team that signs him in free agency wouldn't be losing a draft pick.

That should open the door for more teams to get involved in what's likely to be a heated bidding war next offseason.

So, besides going from one of the worst teams in the league, the Tigers, to a contender, Skubal could also get a much better setup for his looming free agency after the 2026 season.

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• Mets projected to still sell at trade deadline by ex-MLB GM
• Giants continue to not start Bryce Eldridge as much as they should

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