The possibility that Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal could be traded has become one of the major narratives of this MLB offseason.
Skubal has now secured his second straight Cy Young Award—an outcome that had been anticipated for months. However, he’s entering the final year of his contract, and reports suggest the Tigers’ extension proposals have been notably underwhelming.
The Seattle Mariners have a championship window opening up, and their farm system is so good that it would be surprising not to hear them in Skubal rumors. If the thought is that the Mariners could swoop in and acquire Skubal for one glorious year before he hits free agency, though, they’re still going to have to give up a haul.
On Thursday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic projected the packages it would take for a handful of teams to acquire Skubal, and for Seattle, he named five players: right-handed pitchers Bryce Miller, Ryan Sloan, Michael Morales, and Teddy McGraw, and catcher Harry Ford.
“The Mariners know how close they are to getting to the World Series. They’ve already re-signed Josh Naylor to play first base for the next five years. If they can follow that up with a trade for Skubal, they might become the favorites in the American League,” wrote Bowden.
“If Miller is full-strength in 2026, he could immediately be one of the Tigers’ top starters. The Mariners have one of the deepest and most talented farm systems and have plenty of top prospects they could offer.”
Aside from the established big-leaguer in Miller, Bowden’s trade package has Seattle giving up its No. 4, No. 5, No. 14, and No. 18 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. The volume is a steep price inherently, but when you think about what’s left behind, the damage isn’t quite as severe.
Still, the Mariners would know full well they were only guaranteed one year of Skubal, and unless they were then willing to more than double the biggest contract they’ve ever given a starting pitcher (Félix Hernández, $175 million), that year would probably be all they’d get.
Tempting possibility, for sure. But we still have no idea if Skubal is truly available, so it’s not as though Mariners fans should start ordering his custom jerseys.
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