The math is uncomfortable for Detroit. Since June 1, the Tigers own the American League’s second-best record at 25-15. They’ve climbed back into the fringes of contention. They also sit five games behind the third wild-card spot and six and a half back in the AL Central with less than two weeks until the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
That gap — between playing well and actually being likely to reach October — is why Tarik Skubal’s name is dominating deadline chatter instead of disappearing from it.
CBS Sports predicts Detroit will trade the two-time Cy Young winner before the deadline, with president of baseball operations Scott Harris opting for what the outlet calls the “ruthless, cold-hearted baseball move” of cashing in Skubal for multiple young players rather than keeping him for a shaky postseason push and losing him to free agency for nothing but a compensatory draft pick. The prediction lands Skubal with the Dodgers, motivated to three-peat and armed with a deep farm system.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon have already sketched the framework. Per rival executives briefed on Detroit’s thinking, the Tigers want a controllable starting pitcher who can slot into the rotation immediately, plus quality prospects. The names circulating as potential centerpieces include Tampa Bay’s Ian Seymour, Philadelphia’s Andrew Painter, Los Angeles’ Emmet Sheehan, Milwaukee’s Logan Henderson, the Yankees’ Will Warren or Ryan Weathers, and Atlanta’s JR Ritchie or AJ Smith-Shawver.
The logic holds up under scrutiny. Skubal is a rental. He returned from NanoScope elbow surgery last month and has gotten progressively better across seven starts, including nine strikeouts over seven shutout innings against the Angels this past weekend. He’s tentatively scheduled for two more starts before the deadline — Friday against the Royals and next Wednesday against the Orioles — meaning every outing between now and Aug. 3 functions as an audition for suitors.
Trading an ace while still chasing a playoff spot is the kind of move that gets a front office second-guessed in both directions. The Sporting News, citing Rosenthal and Sammon, framed it as Detroit’s best-case scenario: acquire an MLB-ready arm who helps in 2026 and beyond, stockpile prospects, and avoid the worst outcome — watching Skubal walk for a compensation pick.
Elsewhere on the rumor circuit, the Yankees are expected to pursue Padres closer Mason Miller if San Diego makes him available, according to the New York Post. New York already has David Bednar pitching well in the late innings, but Miller is widely regarded as the best reliever in the game. The Padres acquired him last summer in a deal that sent top prospect Leo De Vries to Oakland, and CBS Sports predicts San Diego will sell at the deadline but hold onto Miller, retooling around him for 2027 rather than launching a full rebuild.
The Phillies are shopping for a back-end starter. NBC Sports Philadelphia reports the team wants innings, not necessarily impact, with Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and Jesús Luzardo anchoring the top of the rotation and Aaron Nola serviceable as a No. 4. Andrew Painter’s promotion to Triple-A has thinned the internal options. Among the lower-cost rental arms expected to be available: Shane Bieber and Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays), Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle (Giants), Brady Singer (Reds), and Foster Griffin (Nationals).
CBS Sports also predicts the Yankees will make at least five major-league trades, the Cubs will acquire multiple Mets pitchers in a single deal, the Mariners will trade Luis Castillo, and the Blue Jays will move three of their four big rentals — Bieber, Gausman, George Springer, or Daulton Varsho — with Gausman the one they try to extend.
No trades have been executed yet. The deadline is Monday, Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. ET.