A.J. Hinch's latest comments may hint at Tigers' trade-deadline plans for Tarik Skubal

The Detroit Tigers' late-season collapse in 2025 left them with a bad taste in their mouths heading into this season.

With stars like Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal, A.J. Hinch's team looked poised to bounce back and return to postseason contention.

Thus far, that hasn't happened, but they're not entirely out of the race. That makes their approach to the trade deadline a bit complicated.

Even so, it doesn't sound like they're too eager to offload talent. If anything, they might still think they have more than enough to make a run.

Tigers might not want to trade Tarik Skubal

“This is a win total exercise. We are a crazy intriguing team because I think, like I've said a number of times, we're a good team with a bad record. That often complicates decisions that come around these deadlines,” Hinch told Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

The Tigers just fell to 47-54 after a blowout loss to the Chicago Cubs, but they're still far from done.

They're just 6.5 games behind the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox, and there are still 61 games left in the season. They're also just five games back of the final AL wild-card spot. They might be just a couple of additions away from straightening the course of the ship.

As such, moving on from Skubal might be the last thing on their minds. They still have to figure out his contract situation beyond this season, but letting him go would be all but waiving the white flag and punting the year away.