Tarik Skubal is one of the best pitchers in baseball, fresh off back-to-back AL Cy Young awards. He’s a free agent after the season. Since the Tigers are falling out of postseason contention and unable to pay up to keep Skubal, they’re likely to trade their ace at the trade deadline, which is on Monday, August 3rd at 6 p.m. ET.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at MLB prediction markets to see Skubal’s next MLB team.
The Dodgers are the clear-cut favorites to land Skubal. The back-to-back defending World Series champions are determined to complete the “three-peat,” set to get aggressive at the deadline. Even though they have one of the best records in baseball, they’re in a spot where they can use another ace, which is crazy to say.
Currently, Shohei Ohtani isn’t pitching, while both Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are on the IL. Emmet Sheehan has been disappointing, plus Roki Sasaki is inconsistent. Both Justin Wrobleski and Eric Lauer are innings-eaters who won’t be in the postseason rotation.
To that end, Skubal would fit in perfectly atop their rotation, joining Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Dodgers have a deep prospect pool with enough capital to pull off a blockbuster trade like this one.
The Brewers were one of the best teams in baseball last year. But then they got swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS. This year, they’re once again among the top teams in the league. The difference is, Milwaukee is determined to be more aggressive at the deadline this time around.
That’s why they’re considered one of the favorites to land Skubal. This team already has the NL Cy Young favorite in Jacob Misiorowski, so adding Skubal would give them a formidable duo capable of challenging the Dodgers. The Brewers need to make a move like this if they’re going to contend with that superteam in Southern California.
The problem is they’ve always operated like a small market team, so it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to re-sign Skubal in the offseason. That could cause them to balk at a potential move for the Tigers’ ace. However, they have one of the best farm systems in MLB, so there are enough pieces to pull it off.
Other contenders include the Rays (11%), Braves (8%), and Phillies (7%).
Tampa is similar to Milwaukee: a small market team that won’t be able to sign Skubal, but can contend for a World Series if they acquire him.
Atlanta needs pitching help, specifically an ace to go along with Chris Sale, especially with Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach injured.
Philadelphia already has a stacked rotation with Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, and Jesus Luzardo, but adding Skubal could help them contend vs. the Dodgers.
While I can see the Brewers making a move to add a starter, I can’t see any other team but the Dodgers landing the superstar lefty. We’ve seen the Dodgers consistently make a major splash, from signing Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker to trading for Mookie Betts. It’s unlikely to be anything different here. Even at 39 cents, it’s worth buying on Skubal to the Dodgers right now.
Loading …
