The Boston Red Sox couldn’t actually trade for Tarik Skubal… could they?
Only the Detroit Tigers’ front office truly knows whether Skubal is genuinely on the market, and of course the “everyone has a price” rule always factors in. With that in mind, even Red Sox fans nervous about giving up major assets for what might be a one-year rental may find it worthwhile to imagine what such a deal could cost.
According to insider Jim Bowden of The Athletic, there’s a potential trade package Boston could offer Detroit—one that’s puzzling, intriguing, and surprisingly enticing all at once.
On Thursday, Bowden projected that the Red Sox would have to send four players to Detroit to possibly land Skubal: left-handed pitcher Connelly Early, infielder/outfielder Kristian Campbell, outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia, and right-handed pitcher Christian Foutch.
“The Red Sox are coming off a postseason berth and are looking to build on that momentum. Adding Skubal and pairing him with Garrett Crochet would give Boston the top left-handed duo in baseball.
“They could offer an even more well-rounded package than the Dodgers’ group, led by Early, who would immediately go into the Tigers’ rotation. … Campbell would be another big piece of the trade return.”
One could argue that Crochet and Skubal would be the best duo of lefties in baseball history, bar none. But if there’s only one guaranteed season where that duo stays together, is it worth paying this steep a price?
Ultimately, because Skubal will end up demanding $300-400 million on his next deal, which begins in his age-30 season, this just doesn’t feel like the pitcher the Red Sox will target. It’s an all-in move for 2026, and the Red Sox are banking on their window being longer than that.
There will be other teams that might be willing to pay Skubal’s free agency price tag, and ultimately, if the superstar winds up traded, the smart money is on it being to one of those teams.
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