The offseason in Queens is getting hot as the New York Mets could be a top fit for Tarik Skubal, if the Detroit Tigers choose to trade him. Acquiring the best pitcher in baseball would be a boon, especially after the Mets collapsed to miss the playoffs. While a Mets trade for Skubal seems unlikely, an insider believes the Tigers might not want to pay a large contract to their best player, especially if the bidding goes high.
“I imagine they’ll consider it, if the bidding gets high enough,” said one AL executive. “I’m not sure if they’ll have the guts to do it.”
Skubal just had another great season, going 13-6 with a 2.21 ERA over 31 starts. Overall, he has been fantastic in his tenure with Detroit, going 54-37 with a 3.08 ERA in 137 career games. But he is approaching the last season of his contract, and could hit free agency unless the Tigers extend him.
Detroit President of Baseball Operations David Stearns has not issued large contracts for free agents. However, Mets' owner Steve Cohen has always been aggressive, including the signing of Juan Soto to a monster contract last winter. But what would it take, actually, to stun the world and pull off a Skubal trade?
“It would have to be two or three Top 100 type guys,” an AL executive said. “Skubal is at another level from Burnes, but that return is a good floor.”
The Mets are loaded in the farm system, with young pitchers like Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong, as well as outfielders like Carson Benge and Jett Williams. Currently, all four are among the top 100 players in the MLB Pipeline and could prove enticing to the Tigers.
If the Tigers cannot, or will not, extend Skubal and give him an extension, there will be plenty of suitors. A Mets trade for the reigning Cy Young winner would require multiple top prospects and potentially a current roster player. If the Mets are able to pull off such a feat, they would give them a pitcher who could potentially push them over the top and into the World Series.
