Yankees trading for Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal doesn't make sense

The 28-year-old will be entering the final season of his contract with the Tigers and is set to make $22.5 million in 2026. He will surely receive a large pay raise on his next deal, wherever that may come. 

Why it doesn't make sense for the New York Yankees

While the thought of a super rotation in New York that includes Skubal is tantalizing, the Yankees have several other aspects of their roster that are more important to prioritize improving.

The starting rotation was a strength for this team in 2025 and should be even better in 2026 with the return of Gerrit Cole and a full season of young star Cam Schlittler to go with Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and Luis Gil. Not to mention Will Warren and eventually Clarke Schmidt, whom the team hopes could return around the All-Star break. 

Given that, putting together a massive package of prospects — which would likely include Spencer Jones, some of that young pitching just mentioned and more — isn’t necessary. And that’s without factoring in the contract they’d have to hand Skubal, further limiting their ability to use that money on their true needs. 

What those needs are is finding a way to put up more difficult at-bats up and down the lineup. The Toronto Blue Jays beat them in every which way during the ALDS, and the Yankees should use that and implement it into their roster construction.

Less swing and miss, hitting for contact, plate discipline, smart base running and better defensive baseball are the qualities the Yankees need more of from their everyday players. 

Trading for Skubal not only takes away from their ability to acquire some of that, but it also hurts the depth of the team in more ways than one, which has been part of the issues for this team in recent years, to begin with. 

They already have the high-end star power in New York; now it’s time to spend money to fill their holes and weaknesses. So when you truly think about it, trading for Skubal wouldn’t be the wisest thing for Brian Cashman and company to do; that is, unless the Tigers' asking price in a deal becomes something you just can’t say no to.