Tarik Skubal remains optimistic the Tigers have a chance to compete

What started as a promising season with the excitement of Kevin McGonigle making the team has now turned into a struggle for the Detroit Tigers to survive the grind of a 162-game season. 

The Tigers are 9.5 games out of the American League Central (30-44) and are trending toward trading away the best (or one of the best) arms in the game, Tarik Skubal. Even though all signs point to the two-time Cy Young award winner being dealt at the deadline (Aug. 3), Skubal still believes the Tigers have what it takes to turn their season around. 

Tarik Skubal says the Tigers still control their "destiny...a little bit"

"The reality is we need to play better baseball or else, come the deadline, you give the front office an option to reassess where this team is," Skubal told The Detroit News earlier this week in a story published Thursday. "And if they don't think what we have is a World Series- or playoff-caliber team, then the whole team is going to look different. That's just the nature of the beast.

"The future for a lot of people in this room — not just myself — the outlook could look very much different in two months and it all comes to an abrupt end. We still control our destiny a little bit.” 

It is nice to hear Skubal remain optimistic about the Tigers, but the odds are stacked against the team that blew a 15.5-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians last season. 

Tarik Skubal getting traded is in his and the Tigers' best interest

Dealing Skubal at the deadline would be in the Tigers' best interest, as a team acquiring the two-time All-Star would likely be giving up their No. 1 prospect. The benefit for Skubal would be leaving a team at the depths of the abyss to join a contending team like the Milwaukee Brewers, one of several potential landing spots per ESPN's Kiley McDaniel. 

The Brewers are the third-best team in the National League (45-27) and would have one of the best triple threats in a starting rotation. The Brewers already have Jacob "The Miz" Misiorowski  (1.34 ERA) and Kyle Harrison (2.47 ERA) leading the staff, and adding in another top arm would put the Brewers over the top. 

The Tigers are likely to wait until the trade deadline (Aug. 3) before a move is made.