MLB trade deadline rumors: biggest questions ahead
Bob Nightengale breaks down the biggest trade deadline questions as contenders and sellers weigh their next moves.
It should have been both a glorious potential sendoff for Tarik Skubal and a step toward the Detroit Tigers convincing the front office to hold on to their ace.
Instead, the Tigers demonstrated why they’d be wise to deal the two-time Cy Young Award winner and re-tool.
The Tigers blew a seven-run lead, six of the runs scoring after Skubal left the game, as the Baltimore Orioles rallied for seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings after Skubal shut them out for six innings.
Colton Cowser provided the final blow, hitting a go-ahead RBI single in the 12th inning as the Orioles rallied for a 10-9 victory in front of 34,406 fans at Comerica Park.
The Orioles extended their lead over the Tigers to two games as Detroit fell four games out of the final wild card spot in the American League – with five teams to pass. They remain in fourth place, 5 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.
That predicament strongly suggests the Tigers will deal Skubal, the reigning two-time AL Cy Young winner. He is a pending free agent after this season and was expected to command a record-setting salary for a starting pitcher, well north of $300 million.
But Skubal needed elbow surgery in May and Detroit played poorly both before and after he was sidelined. They have rallied in the past two months, going 29-19 entering Wednesday’s game, but have performed unevenly the past week, dropping series to last-place Kansas City and now Baltimore.
Not that it’s Skubal’s fault: He’s given up two earned runs over 21 innings in his past three starts. That dominance might be better put to use on behalf of a true contender. And more and more, it appears the Tigers will not fill that role.
USA TODAY Sports provided live updates on Wednesday:
Colton Cowser’s two-out RBI single in the top of the 12th put Baltimore back in front, 10-9.
Spencer Torkelson led off the bottom of the 11th with a two-run homer off Baltimore reliever Rico Garcia, his 100th career home run, tying the game.
Yohel Pozo hit a sacrifice fly and Jackson Holliday smacked a two-out RBI single in the top of the 11th to take a 9-7 lead.
Not even a runner on second could help the Tigers and Orioles push across the go-ahead run in a crucial game for both teams.
Both clubs hit into double plays – Baltimore lining into one and the Tigers grounding into one – as the courtesy runners both failed to factor into scoreless 10th innings.
So, it is on to the 11th at Comerica Park.
After a wild afternoon of offensive fireworks and defensive misplays, both the Orioles and Tigers went quiet in the ninth inning as both teams deployed their closers. Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless top of the ninth while Tyler Wells responded in kind for the Orioles in the bottom half.
So, on to extra innings and the “courtesy” runner on second base in the 10th inning in a game both clubs desperately need in hopes of contending in a muddled AL playoff field.
If the Tigers are to salvage anything from Tarik Skubal’s potential final home start, it will have to be in walk-off fashion.
The Orioles and Tigers were each held scoreless in the eighth inning and entered the ninth tied 7-7. Detroit has been held scoreless since scoring a pair of runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.
So much for Tarik Skubal dominating the Orioles and the Tigers roaring into the trade deadline, perhaps keeping their ace.
Reliever Drew Anderson yielded a two-run, game-tying triple to Coby Mayo as the Tigers blew a seven-run lead as Baltimore tied the game 7-7 in the top of the eighth.
The game-tying rally was keyed when Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres opted to throw to second base on a grounder, but Gunnar Henderson beat the throw to put two runners on. Anderson eventually stranded Mayo at third, but the damage was done – and the Tigers now need to rally to salvage victory.
So much for the Orioles playing along with a sentimental afternoon in Detroit.
Tigers reliever Kyle Finnegan relieved ace Tarik Skubal and inherited two baserunners and a 7-1 lead. It soon became a 7-5 game as Finnegan issued a walk and then gave up two-run singles to Jackson Holliday and Taylor Ward.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch then summoned Drew Anderson, who retired Pete Alonso on a pop foul to first. The Tigers still have the lead. But suddenly it’s a game.
The crowd of 34,406 at Comerica Park kept rising to their feet to salute Tarik Skubal. And the Tigers left-hander found himself applauding right back on what could have been his final start as a Tiger in Detroit.
Skubal was removed by Tigers manager A.J. Hinch with two outs in the seventh inning, moments after giving up an RBI single to Leody Taveras. Hinch visited moments earlier, issuing a pep talk and hoping Skubal would empty the tank and finish with a clean sheet.
But 6 2/3 innings, incuding a streak of 14 consecutive batters retired, isn’t too bad.
Reliever Kyle Finnegan issued a walk and then a two-run single, allowing both runnes inherited from Skubal to score. Skubal’s final line: 6 2/3 innings, four hits, three earned runs, one walk, six strikeouts – and two standing ovations, perhaps his last in front of this home crowd.
Can Tarik Skubal shut out the Orioles? After a seven-pitch sixth inning, it seems anything is possible.
Skubal has retired 14 consecutive Baltimore batters, striking out Pete Alonso for his sixth punchout against no walks. His pitch count after six innings? A remarkably efficient 74. He’s thrown first-pitch strikes to 14 of 20 batters.
Meanwhile, a Zach McKinstry two-run double has extended Detroit’s lead to 7-0. The Tigers are nine outs from catching the Orioles in the AL wild-card standings.
You might say Tarik Skubal has settled in. After yielding a one-out single to Coby Mayo in the second inning, Skubal retired the next 11 batters, three by strikeout, as he cruised through five scoreless innings leading 5-0.
Skubal has given up just two hits with no walks and struck out five, throwing 67 pitches. However, the Orioles have hit several hard-hit balls, most notably Mayo’s 413-foot flyout to dead center field leading off the field. It had a 103.1 mph exit velocity.
Detroit then tacked on two insurance runs, after Matt Vierling tripled and Javy Baez hit an RBI single. Vierling, though, came out of the game after his triple for apparent precautionary reasons after suffering a leg injury. Hao-Yu Lee drove in Baez with a sacrifice fly.
And just like that, three consecutive hits and an Orioles gaffe gave Tarik Skubal a 3-0 lead after three innings.
A single by Spencer Torkelson and double by Matt Vierling off Trevor Rogers got the Tigers in business, and then Javier Baez, fresh off the injured list, ripped an RBI single that scored Torkelson. Baez got caught too far off the bag at first and ended up in a rundown – but Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso threw the ball away.
That enabled Vierling to score and Baez moved to second; he’d eventually score on Kevin McGonigle’s sacrifice fly.
Is that enough for Skubal? Quite possibly.
The left-hander possibly headed to the trading block has been perfect through two innings. And Tarik Skubal has been OK, too.
Yet it’s Trevor Rogers who’s been unsullied as the Orioles and Tigers are scoreless after two. He’s struck out two and gotten three easy groundballs from Detroit’s lineup. Of course, Skubal’s been fine, too, recording his 1,000th strikeout and giving up harmless singles to Pete Alonso in the first inning and Coby Mayo in the second.
Skubal has been sitting on 999 career strikeouts since his last outing, a dominant 7 1/3-inning effort against Kansas City. Well, he didn’t have to wait long to get that milestone out of the way against the Orioles: He struck out Taylor Ward, the first batter of the game, with his trademark changeup.
Skubal acknowledged the standing ovation from the Comerica Park crowd, stepping behind the mound, removing his cap and applauding the fans right back. He quickly locked back in, giving up a single to Pete Alonso but retiring Gunnar Henderson and Tyler O’Neill to end the top of the first.
Starting pitcher: Tarik Skubal
- Gleyber Torres (R) 2B
- Kevin McGonigle (L) SS
- Hao-Yu Lee (R) 3B
- Dillon Dingler (R) C
- Riley Greene (L) LF
- Eduardo Valencia (R) DH
- Spencer Torkelson (R) 1B
- Matt Vierling (R) RF
- Javier Báez (R) CF
Starting pitcher: Trevor Rogers
- Taylor Ward (R) LF
- Pete Alonso (R) 1B
- Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
- Tyler O’Neill (R) RF
- Christian Encarnacion-Strand (R) 3B
- Coby Mayo (R) DH
- Leody Taveras (S) CF
- Jeremiah Jackson (R) 2B
- Chadwick Tromp (R) C
Skubal enters Wednesday’s start with 999 career strikeouts and the upcoming milestone was on his mind a day before the game.
“I got something cool that I want to accomplish at home, so that won’t change,” he said.
Teams must have their trade details finalized and submitted to the league office by the deadline in order for any acquired players to be eligible for the playoffs. After that, players on 40-man rosters can’t be traded.
- When: Monday, Aug. 3
- Time: 6 p.m. ET
Tarik Skubal is earning $32 million in 2026, setting a record by winning his arbitration case against the Tigers in the offseason.
The two-time Cy Young winner is a free agent after the season and is expected to command perhaps the largest contract for a pitcher in MLB history, a mark currently held by Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s $325 million deal with the Dodgers.
Tarik Skubal has a 1.17 ERA in five career starts against the Baltimore Orioles, striking out 36 in 30.2 innings pitched.
If the Tigers decide to deal Skubal, some of the top potential landing spots include:
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Chicago Cubs
- Atlanta Braves