A 2-2 split in this series was, to me, the worst possible outcome. 4-0 or 3-1 and holding onto Skubal and Mize appeared to make sense. Losing 3 or 4 would have, in my view opened the door to trading one or both.
This leaves possible openings either way. I personally think cashing in Skubal, Mize, Torres and Jansen would make sense, depending upon what return is available. But I suspect that the front office will likely try to have it both ways. I certainly do not want the Tigers to give up any of their top prospects for what I think will be a very long shot at making the postseason.
There is a temptation to expect a run like that that ended the '24 season. This is possible, I suppose, and having players that experienced this may make it slightly more likely than otherwise might be the case. But any such psychological life is likely to have very minimal impact on the likelihood of a run to the playoffs, if any.