Mets interested in Skubal trade?

[Paul Meloche]

A (paywalled) article based mostly on speculation from The Athletic suggests that "signs point to" the Tigers exploring trade options for Skubal during the offseason.

The Mets are the focal point of the article, presumably due to their deep pockets and desire to win now. The FA pitching market isn't great which means the return for the best SP in baseball could be significant even if it's for the fine year of his contract.

An "industry source unaffiliated with the club" feels from the Tigers side of things a deal heavy on major league ready starting pitching and a hitter would be where hypothetical talks would start. The writer suggests Jonah Tong, Brandon Groat, and Jett Williams as the Tigers return (article states that Mets young SP Nolan Maclean is untouchable). The three players cited are the Mets 3, 4, and 5 prospects per MLB.com.

I doubt the Mets would do a deal like that without some kind of extension in place, though it is the Mets so you never know.

From a Tigers perspective, we have '26 championship aspirations of our own so I don't know if this hypothetical deal helps us do that. All three players are ML ready but while on paper the pitchers round out the rotation there's no 2026 ace here. Williams is a really good prospect but he plays middle infield and CF which we have covered in the organization.

If I'm the Tigers I'm listening to offers for Skubal but the return on paper would need to help us win now at or more than keeping Skubal would.

Paul M.

[Peter Welch]

Sorry, Mets, you've got to include MacLean if you want to start trade talks for Skubal.

Peter

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Sent: Saturday, October 18, 2025 12:40 PM
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Subject: Mets interested in Skubal trade?

 

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[Mike Coveyou]

I would be discouraged to see Skubal leave before next season, but I also think it would be malpractice for Harris not to listen to what the Mets have to offer.  I'm thinking that the Mets might be so desperate at this point , given their ridiculous spending and failure to produce that their offer might be impossible to resist.

Mike Coveyou

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[Peter Welch]

If the Tigers trade Skubal (whether to the Mets or wherever) they need to insist on a ready-for-majors top pitching prospect (or two) as part of the package.  MacLean would be that (he just turned 24 and had a 2.06 ERA in 8 starts for the Mets this year after being promoted from AAA later in the season).

We need a potential top-of-the-rotation starter (like a MacLean) plus 2-3 other top prospects in return if we're going to trade Skubal.

Sounds like the Mets aren't willing to part with MacLean, so I say Harris should hang up the phone.

Peter

---

From: Mike Coveyou <mcov...@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 18, 2025 11:32 PM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Cc: Tigers List <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Mets interested in Skubal trade?

 

[Roger King]

But this idea of ready for the majors pitching prospects… Why wouldn’t the Mets or any team just put these players directly into their rotations for 2026? I mean, I know Skubal is elite of course and at another level but if they’re really good ready to go prospects, you think they wouldn’t necessarily need Skubal. 

I can see where it would happen maybe at the trade deadline where you’d part with a “ready to go” pitcher for someone who will lead you through the postseason but at the start of a season, I’m a little more skeptical. 

I don’t imagine Harris’ phone is going to ring that often. How many teams would be willing to take on Skubal knowing full well his status and that Boras is seeking the largest pitching contract in history?  It’s a one year rental. 

Look at the pitching the Dodgers just delivered in the NLCS. They clearly don’t “need” him.   Yankees & Mets would be about it I would think. And even then, I’m not convinced Boras will sign an extension with *any* team before testing free agency and a potential bidding war. Unless it was just an absolutely insane offer.

Roger King
El Presidente
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[Peter Welch]

I agree, it would be silly for the Mets to trade MacLean for Skubal.  MacLean has already shown he can be a very good starter in the majors,he's 5 years younger than Skubal, and he's under team control for 6 more years.  It would make no sense. 

That being said, if I'm Harris I'd keep asking for MacLean if the Mets keep calling.

Peter

---

From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2025 8:05 AM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Cc: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>

[Michael W]

Not a very attractive offer.  These are decent prospects but not great.  Sproat. in particular,  looks like the sort of guy I'm hopeful about when I'm desperate, not someone to trade an all-start for.

Michael

[Michael W]

> I don’t imagine Harris’ phone is going to ring that often. 

Yah, it's going to be very difficult to make a trade for Skubal that Tiger fans will appreciate.  He's the best pitcher in baseball.  The fact that he'll probably only win another 17 games for the Tigers is hard to internalize.  The time to trade him was last year.  Now we either play out the string, or bite the very expensive bullet and sign him long term.

I wonder if Boras would go for something like 4 years, $240M, including 2026?  Probably not; I wouldn't.

Michael

[Sean Sweda]

There is a template for a deal like this. The Yankees traded the following players for 1 season of Juan Soto:
Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez, Kyle Higashioka

So that's a one quality MLB pitcher (King), three "B" prospects (Thorpe/Brito/Vasquez), and an established MLB catcher roughly equivalent to Jake Rogers. The Padres also sent Trent Grisham to the Yankees in that trade, but he was basically a salary dump at that point (worked out great for the Yankees in 2025 though!). FWIW, the Padres later flipped Thorpe (who was the youngest/best prospect in the deal) in a package for Dylan Cease.

> On Oct 19, 2025, at 8:05 AM, Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com> wrote:
>
> But this idea of ready for the majors pitching prospects… Why wouldn’t the Mets or any team just put these players directly into their rotations for 2026? I mean, I know Skubal is elite of course and at another level but if they’re really good ready to go prospects, you think they wouldn’t necessarily need Skubal.
>
> I can see where it would happen maybe at the trade deadline where you’d part with a “ready to go” pitcher for someone who will lead you through the postseason but at the start of a season, I’m a little more skeptical.
>
> I don’t imagine Harris’ phone is going to ring that often. How many teams would be willing to take on Skubal knowing full well his status and that Boras is seeking the largest pitching contract in history? It’s a one year rental.
>
> Look at the pitching the Dodgers just delivered in the NLCS. They clearly don’t “need” him. Yankees & Mets would be about it I would think. And even then, I’m not convinced Boras will sign an extension with *any* team before testing free agency and a potential bidding war. Unless it was just an absolutely insane offer.
>
>
> Roger King
> El Presidente
> PN Agency – www.pnagency.com
> Ethnic Voice Talent –www.ethnicvoicetalent.com
> (416) 515-7195
>
>
> On Sat, Oct 18, 2025 at 11:46 PM Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> If the Tigers trade Skubal (whether to the Mets or wherever) they need to insist on a ready-for-majors top pitching prospect (or two) as part of the package. MacLean would be that (he just turned 24 and had a 2.06 ERA in 8 starts for the Mets this year after being promoted from AAA later in the season).
>
> We need a potential top-of-the-rotation starter (like a MacLean) plus 2-3 other top prospects in return if we're going to trade Skubal.
>
> Sounds like the Mets aren't willing to part with MacLean, so I say Harris should hang up the phone.
>
> Peter
>

> From: Mike Coveyou <mcov...@gmail.com>
> Sent: Saturday, October 18, 2025 11:32 PM
> To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
> Cc: Tigers List <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
> Subject: Re: Mets interested in Skubal trade?
> I would be discouraged to see Skubal leave before next season, but I also think it would be malpractice for Harris not to listen to what the Mets have to offer. I'm thinking that the Mets might be so desperate at this point , given their ridiculous spending and failure to produce that their offer might be impossible to resist.
>
> Mike Coveyou
>
> On Sat, Oct 18, 2025 at 3:23 PM Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry, Mets, you've got to include MacLean if you want to start trade talks for Skubal.
>
> Peter

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[Roger King]

But of course Soto is an everyday player, not a pitcher who only helps once every 5 days. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/detroit-tigers/7B0F8120-0AD4-4DBE-A8BB-4B6BE0603D8C%40ibl.org.

[Peter Welch]

Perhaps the Tigers could sign a good starter like Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Brandon Woodruff, Chris Sale, or Ranger Suarez this offseason to a shorter-term contract and then we'd still have a top starter in the rotation for a couple of years after Skubal leaves as a free agent after 2026.  If we did that, we'd also have 1 season of Skubal plus one of those guys in the rotation in 2026, which might increase our chances in 2026, assuming the goal to is win a WS while Skubal is still in Detroit.

Chris Sale might be gettable on something like a 2-3 year contract since he's 36.  Woodruff might be gettable on a shorter-term deal as well.  Cease, Valdez and Suarez might be wanting longer-term deals.

My concern is that the Tigers don't have a potential #1 starter to replace Skubal after he leaves next year.   There isn't anyone in the Tigers' system who remotely looks like a future #1 starter to replace Skubal.  I like Melton's potential to be a good starter but I don't expect him to be a #1 starter on the level of a Skubal or a prime Verlander/Scherzer, and I'm not sure about Jobe ever being a #1 starter.  Jobe won't be a factor until 2027 anyway.  Mize and Olson certainly don't look like future #1 starters, plus Mize will be a free agent in 2027 as well.  We need to find a #1 starter to replace Skubal when he leaves.

At some point the Tigers are going to have to trade for a top starter or sign a top starter as a free agent assuming they won't be extending/re-signing Skubal.

Peter

---

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Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2025 3:47 PM
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[Peter Welch]

Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies, plus possibly Mariners, Padres, Giants, Cubs and Red Sox would be my top candidates for signing Skubal.  Dark horse candidates might be the Braves and Rangers.

Mets, Phillies and Yankees might try to trade for him this offseason, but they probably won't offer enough and will have to wait to sign him in 2027.

So the most likely scenario for the Tigers will be to try winning a World Series in 2026 with Skubal (they'll need to give him some better hitting help to do this) and then get a comp draft pick for him in 2027 after he leaves.  I'd say it's less than 5% chance the Tigers sign Skubal to an extension.

Peter

---

From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2025 8:05 AM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Cc: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>

[Sean Sweda]

A team adding Skubal is doing that for the post-season too, where he'll be pitching more of the games (e.g Tigers played 8 playoff games, Skubal started 3 of them) and will have a larger impact on those games than any single position player. If you're good enough to win the World Series and only care about 1 season then it's not clear to me that it's better to have a Soto (elite hitter) than a Skubal (elite SP). Also, Soto can only play outfield or DH. Adding Skubal can make a bigger impact on some teams because he bumps the 5th starter rather than the worst corner outfielder (e.g. the Red Sox already have good outfielders).

> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/detroit-tigers/CAG8ixx3uf0Wf0nK7bkzQCiFtfdKAwL0qRQy_W4AMO%2B53PGPHCA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Roger King]

Harris should present this case to the Mets straight up and trade Skubal for Soto 😉

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/detroit-tigers/19EDD8B6-6FBE-41CA-AD50-B18AF92E887B%40ibl.org.

[Sean Sweda]

Makes you wonder if "Monty Burns" Hinch would pinch-hit for Soto against a tough lefty.

[Mike Coveyou]

While I would want to hear what the Mets might offer, a better alternative than trading Skubal now might be to see where things stand at the trade deadline.  If the Tigers are out of it, two months of Skubal for a team on the cusp of winning a division might be worth an attractive deal.  If the Tigers are competitive, keep Skubal and make another run at a pennant.

Mike Coveyou

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[Peter Welch]

Yes, I can see Skubal being a deadline trade next year if the Tigers are out of contention.  A lot has to go wrong next year for the Tigers not to be a contender in the AL Central.  

Peter

---

From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Mike Coveyou <mcov...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2025 1:10 AM
To: Sean Sweda <sw...@ibl.org>

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[Roger King]

Good overview here on which teams might be interested in Skubal and what they might offer… Plus some comparisons to similar trade situations in past years.

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-executives-on-tarik-skubal-potential-trade?p=1&partnerId=it-20251022-15386733-mlb-1-A&utm_id=it-20251022-15386733-mlb-1-A&lctg=109616658

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[Paul Meloche]

Thanks for the link - good article! Except for where the writer calls Skubal the second best starter in MLB (to Skenes) ;)

It's a free article so I won't recap all the what-if scenarios covered, but I'll stick with what I said a few days ago in that an offseason deal would have to make us better right now w/o Skubal than we would be with him and I don't see that happening based on what I read - the deals are heavy on prospects and presumably the Tigers front office has WS aspirations for 2026, vs developing players for a run in '27 and '28.

Also of note, the comp deals (Betts, Soto, etc) to me looked better on paper than they ended up being in real life. 

Paul M.

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[Peter Welch]

Right, so if we trade Skubal to the Mets this offseason we need to get MacLean (and a couple other of their top prospects) in return because MacLean could step right into the Tigers' rotation in 2026 and probably be pretty good (probably not Skubal-good, but still good), but it would make no sense for the Mets to trade Skubal for MacLean, who is already in the majors and under team control for 6 years.   Teams don't trade their #1 prospects these days for rentals who are about to become expensive.

The only Skubal trade I can foresee would be at the deadline next year if the Tigers are out of contention, but I think the Tigers will be in contention next year barring some really bad things happening.

The only return we're likely to get for Skubal is a comp 1^st round draft pick in 2027.  So let's try to get Skubal some help and win it all in 2026!

Or maybe somehow the Ilitch clan will cave in and be willing to give Skubal an extension.

Peter

---

From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Paul Meloche <meloc...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2025 11:13 AM
To: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Cc: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>; Tigers List <detroit...@googlegroups.com>

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[Paul Meloche]

Yeah, Maclean, Tong, and Jett Williams might get it done for me but that's asking a lot. Of course it is the Mets so anything's possible.

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[Roger King]

Many seem to be operating under the assumption the Tigers won’t pay what it takes to keep Skubal long-term but I’m operating under the assumption that no one knows what that amount is. 

I just think Boras has a game plan to take it all the way to free agency and get a bidding war going. Along the way, I’m sure he’ll continue to leak things here and there like the Tigers supposed offer that generated some media stories last week.

So I feel like Harris probably suspects this is the game plan so there’s only so much effort you can make at this point in the process if you’re the Tigers.  

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[Peter Welch]

Harris should try to get a bidding war going between the Yankees, Mets and Phillies.  The Mets' owner, Steve Cohen, has a huge ego and is ultra-competitive, he could be manipulated into giving up a lot for Skubal if he knows the Yankees and Phillies are bidding for him.

The Phillies and Yankees also have some intriguing pitching prospects.

The Dodgers won't trade for Skubal because they know they can always sign him in 2027 and they don't "need" him in 2026.

Peter

---

From: Paul Meloche <meloc...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2025 11:53 AM

[Peter Welch]

You can guarantee Boras is wanting more money for Skubal than any pitcher (other than Ohtani) has ever received. 

Zack Wheeler is the 2nd highest paid pitcher per season, making $42 million this year and for the next 2 seasons.  He signed a 3-year, $125-million extension last year at age 34.

Jacob DeGrom is next at $40 million this season.  He is getting $38 million next year and $37 million in 2027.  DeGrom signed a 5-year, $185 million contract with the Rangers in 2022 at age 35.

Those guys are older than Skubal.  For a comparison to Skubal at a similar age, Gerrit Cole signed a 9-year, $324 million contract at age 29 with the Yankees in 2020.

Cole made $36 million this year (rehabbing from TJS, so I guess he could cover his medical bills).

So we're probably looking at $45+ million per season for Skubal, and if Boras gets the bidding war he wants, Skubal might get $50 million per season.

Insane!

Peter

---

From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2025 12:04 PM

[Dave]

Roger,

I am not sure why you don't see what Boras is going to ask for.  The $400M price is what is floating around.  Expect Boras to ask north of that to see if there are any takers.  The Mets, Dodgers or Yankees and possibly Boston will pay up.  The Tigers will not take on that kind of debt.  It is that simple.  Boras and Mike I had a relationship but still did not give the Tigers any deals in signing 

D

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[Roger King]

Maybe I should have phrased it as no one is sure what the dollar amount will end up being. As Peter said, who’s to say it doesn’t reach $500 million?

But my larger point is, Boras simply isn’t going to say yes *now* to what he correctly estimates will be the largest pitching contract in history. He wants a bidding war which you can’t get until Skubal is officially a free agent.

This has been my feeling about any of the elite players heading towards free agency - that they would never say yes to their current clubs until at least testing the free agency market. Vlad Guerrero Jr staying here in Toronto I think was an anomaly. He was born in Canada and really likes Toronto and just wanted to be the face of the franchise. But in most cases, the athlete I think will wait…like we saw with Judge. Sure he ultimately signed back with the Yankees, but he tested it first and they had to outbid everyone else.

[Peter Welch]

Right, Boras wants the bidding war.  I think we'd all be shocked if Skubal signed an extension with the Tigers before he becomes a FA.

Unless Skubal just loves playing for the Tigers and gives them a bit of a discount, but I don't see that happening.  Skubal is from the west coast.  I think he'll eventually sign with a west coast team.  He might not want to play in the fishbowl in New York even for a few million more, but money will probably talk in the end.

Peter

---

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Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2025 1:10 PM
To: Dave <lor...@aol.com>

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[Michael W]

I don't see why the Tigers would have World Series aspirations for 2026.   It could be that Greene, Tork, Dingler and Keith all take a step forward, but it's just as likely that not all of them will.  Carp should be incrementally better.  Nobody on the rest of the team seems likely to be better. Torres may be gone.  Skubal, Baez, McKinstry, and Jones are likely to be worse.  If all goes well, we'll probably be 5 or 6 games better than 2025.  A good team, but not really a championship contender.

Unless you mean that the management might go out and get some good free agents.  That is possible, but it's very expensive to get 5 or 6 incremental wins that way, and prone to surprises.

Michael

[Roger King]

I think any team that came literally one hit away from going to the ALCS and is still among the youngest teams in the majors with potential impact prospects on the way certainly has World Series aspirations.  Especially given Torres is the only player you could remotely call impact who could be leaving via free agency.

Probably not worth it at this point to break down the roster in terms of who is likely to improve and who is not given we have no idea who Harris will acquire via free agency or trade… or which players in the minors might make the team either out of spring training or shortly after.

I mean, who had Melton being an impact player in the postseason when we talked about the 2025 roster out of spring training? :-)

Roger King
El Presidente
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Ethnic Voice Talent –www.ethnicvoicetalent.com
(416) 515-7195

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[Peter Welch]

I don't see why not.  We'll still have Skubal, who still should be very good.  We did get to the ALDS in 2024 and 2025 and were very close to advancing to the ALCS in both years.  Could we have won a best-of-7 ALCS and made it to the WS in 2024 and 2025?  Who knows?  Anything can happen in a short series and we do have Skubal.

I think our offense is better than it showed in the 2nd half this year.  They were probably hitting above their heads in the 1st half, but it seemed that nearly every hitter went into a slump in the 2^nd half, especially in September going into the playoffs.  Was this simply regression to the mean or just bad luck that a bunch of hitters slumped at the same time?  Hinch seems to think that the hitters got into a bunch of bad habits in the 2^nd half and it spiraled downward from there as they became more anxious.

I think the Tigers can add a couple of players (either via free agency and/or trade) to help them shore up some weaknesses.  

Acquire a good #2 starter (there are some good FA options), sign a couple of relievers who can miss bats, and perhaps sign/acquire a 3B and/or CF.

I know you have to hope Greene and Carpenter improve at least back to their 2024 levels, and Tork and Keith continue to get better.  

If those guys stay were they were or regress then we'll be in trouble.

Peter

---

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Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2025 2:40 PM
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[Michael W]

> I think any team that came literally one hit away from going to the ALCS  [...]  certainly has World Series aspirations.

It's a fair point, but they also came within one hit of not making the playoffs at all.  

They were an 87-win team, and it is what it is.  The postseason is always a bit of a crapshoot, but you don't really expect the weaker teams to win.

Michael

[Roger King]

In addition to being one hit away from the ALCS in extra innings this year, two years in a row they were 7 outs away. If Brieske in 2024 and/or Finnegan/Holton could’ve held a one run lead, the Tigers would’ve been there both years.

There’s no way we’d say a team that went to the ALCS two years in a row shouldn’t have World Series aspirations the following year. So why on earth would we say it when they came that close? :-)

As I said in the previous reply, sure we can get into some discussion/debate about who is likely to improve and who is not, but why would we go too deep into that when the off-season hasn’t even started yet?

And with the guys we know will be back, even there, no one knows anything. At this time last year, we thought Baez might be released and Torkelson might not even make the team!  

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[Peter Welch]

Plus maybe a couple of better decisions by Hinch and we would have advanced both years.

(And, if only, Skubal had paid attention to Josh Naylor...grrr!).

Peter

---

From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>

Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2025 3:16 PM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
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