With the Major League Baseball season nearing its end, several teams are already looking at ways to improve for 2026. One player who is getting all kinds of trade buzz and speculation is Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal. There are now three more teams hoping to land Skubal, according to an MLB.com report.
Those teams are the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres. All three made the MLB postseason in 2025, with the Dodgers playing in the World Series for the second consecutive year.
There's a common denominator with all of these teams, for why they would want Skubal's services.
“Three other contending teams – the Dodgers, Phillies and Padres – should never be counted out of situations like this one, as their front offices have a history of making big moves,” Mark Feinsand wrote.
It is expected that several other teams will come calling the Tigers this offseason. Skubal is entering his final year prior to free agency.
“I imagine they’ll consider it, if the bidding gets high enough,” one AL executive said to Feinsand, about Detroit. “I’m not sure if they’ll have the guts to do it.”
The Tigers just made the American League Division Series, but lost to the Seattle Mariners.
Dodgers, Phillies, Padres could trade young prospects for Tarik Skubal
Skubal has proven himself to be an incredible pitcher. During the 2025 regular season, the Tigers ace posted 13 victories. He also finished the season with a 2.21 ERA. In the postseason, Skubal tossed 36 strikeouts while posting a 1.74 ERA.
These three teams are expected to all offer plenty of prospects to Detroit.
“A Dodgers deal would potentially have to include outfielder Josue De Paula, Los Angeles’ No. 1 prospect and the No. 13 prospect in baseball,” Feinsand wrote. “The Dodgers have seven players currently on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list – not to mention an inexpensive, budding star in Roki Sasaki – giving president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman a number of chips to use in a deal if he chooses to make his pitching-rich club even richer.”
The Padres meanwhile are expected to need some starting pitching in the near future. Both Dylan Cease and Michael King are free-agents this offseason. San Diego is also looking for a manager, adding to the uncertainty there.
In Philadelphia, the Phillies could offer one of their most prized prospects for Skubal.
“Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has long considered top prospect Andrew Painter – who some have compared to a young Justin Verlander – to be untouchable, but Philadelphia’s aging roster makes 2026 a crucial season before its current window of contention begins to close,” Feinsand wrote.
Time will tell if Skubal leaves Detroit this offseason.
