Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal celebrates striking out Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh I the sixth inning of ALDS Game 5 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025 Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Yankees Have Trade Pieces for Tarik Skubal Deal

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Joseph Randazzo | Last updated Nov 18, 2025 6:00 PM ET

The New York Yankees will be without their ace Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon to start the season. Ryan Yarbrough coming back could lessen the blow in the short term, but if the Detroit Tigers end up trading Tarik Skubal, not only will one of the best pitchers in baseball sure up the pitching depth to start 2026, but the combination of Cole, Skubal, and Max Fried in the postseason would be a three-headed monster.

The Trade Chips

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Yankees have the firepower to get a deal done.

"The Yankees have the upper-level pitching depth Detroit lacks," Passan writes.

Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Ultimately, it will be up to the Tigers to trade him. Passan also says that Detroit will follow the market and see what's out there.

"In the end, the Tigers' decision will be informed by the markets that surround it. If teams can upgrade with a player who is 75% of Skubal at 50% the price, they will. Until that is no longer an option, teams simply won't bend over backward to overpay, regardless of how appetizing a rotation helmed by the ace of aces would be. Anyway, they've got plenty of other options."

The other teams Passan sees as having a shot at Skubal are the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, and potentially the Chicago Cubs. The Mariners have the prospects for Skubal, but he sees them as having little desire to trade for him.

The Athletic's Jim Bowden also linked the Yankees to Skubal.

"Expect the big-market teams with strong farm systems and the financial wherewithal to sign Skubal long-term to make their interest known, teams like the Yankees, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Giants, and, yes, the Dodgers," Bowden says.

The Boras Dilemma

The Tigers may find themselves in the same position the San Diego Padres did when they traded Juan Soto to the Yankees after the 2023 season. Skubal, also a Scott Boras client, will command a massive deal, and spending his whole career in Detroit won't get them any hometown discounts. That usually tends to be the case with Boras' guys outside of Jered Weaver with the Los Angeles Angels, and he is more of an outlier than anything else.

It's hard to guess what other teams value, but if this is about the top arms in the Yankee farm system, Carlos Lagrange and Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz would likely have to be included. Bryce Cunningham and Ben Hess might be a part of the deal, too.

Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

If the Yankees think they have a shot at signing Skubal long-term, then clearing out the farm system does make sense. They probably thought they would with Juan Soto, but the Yankees may have better luck here.

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