Sports

Tarik Skubal trade rumors: How Rays could make trade deadline splash

Nairavoice · Aug 1, 2026 · 5 min read

The Tampa Bay Rays usually don’t make huge additions at the MLB trade deadline. Throughout their history, they’ve tended to be sellers, including when they dealt former Cy Young-winning pitcher David Price to the Detroit Tigers in 2014.

Things are a little different in 2026. The Rays enter August with the best record in the American League. They’re under new ownership. And now there’s a chance they could raid the Tigers for their ace pitcher.

Tarik Skubal is widely considered the prize of this year’s trade deadline. It’s assumed the impending free agent will be traded away as Detroit, where the 29-year-old made his debut in 2020 and has won back-to-back Cy Young awards, has floundered after two promising playoff seasons. Skubal recorded his 1,000th career strikeout July 29 and was given a rousing ovation when he left as fans assumed that would be the last time he pitched in a Tigers uniform.

The Rays could use a top-of-the-line starting pitcher, especially after Shane McClanahan was placed on the injured list with a recurring back injury July 31. Manager Kevin Cash still has ace Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez, who at 35 years old is in the midst of a career season. But adding Skubal would cement Tampa as the surefire favorite to represent the AL in the World Series, according to ESPN insider Jeff Passan, and potentially set them up for their first championship.

But there are a lot of other teams vying for Skubal’s services, namely the Los Angeles Dodgers, the two-time reigning champions and favorites to land every big-name player over the past decade. And the Tigers’ asking price is somewhere between “enormous” and “astronomical,” which traditionally has left the small-market Rays in the cold. But could Patrick Zalupski and the new ownership group change things up in Tampa? Here’s what we know.
getting traded?

The Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers, owners of the best records in MLB entering August, were considered the favorites to land Skubal. Along with the Rays, other teams seen as contenders for Skubal are the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs. The New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies could also make a move for the ace.

According to DraftKings, the Rays are the No. 3 team in the race for Tarik Skubal at +550. The Dodgers are first at +140, while the Brewers sit at +280.

All trades must be made by 6 p.m. ET Monday, Aug. 3.

All MLB insiders agree that the Tigers are asking for a king’s ransom in prospects in return for Skubal. The Rays boast one of the deepest farm systems in baseball. Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic said Detroit would want a controllable starting pitcher in return, as well. For Tampa, their example was Ian Seymour, who has two more years before he is due for arbitration.

Tampa’s supply of minor-league talent might not be enough for Detroit, however, especially if, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan says, the Rays are unwilling to deal 20-year-old center-field prospect Theo Gillen. “Tampa Bay isn’t fundamentally opposed to trading Gillen, but doing so for a player who will be there for months as opposed to years is where aggressiveness turns into recklessness,” Passan wrote.

Passan said LA was the “heavy favorite” to land Skubal, much to the chagrin of all other fanbases. Seeing as the Dodgers have added Blake Snell, Kyle Tucker, Teoscar Hernandez, Edwin Diaz, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and of course Shohei Ohtani over the past few years, it’s not surprising to see them atop the list of teams rumored to be in the market for Skubal.

But the Dodgers have been hesitant in declaring their level of interest considering last year’s World Series-winning rotation of Yamamoto, Snell, Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow are still on the roster. On the other hand, injuries to Snell and Glasnow, not to mention Ohtani being removed from pitching duties with injury concerns of his own, lead to a potential need for a starter.

The most intriguing option for a Skubal trade, Ken Rosenthal said, was Milwaukee, which has been the National League equivalent of the Rays the past decade or so. The move would harken back to 2008, when the Brewers traded for CC Sabathia, who nearly won the NL Cy Young despite pitching in just 17 games for them.

Skubal would join NL Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski to form perhaps the most terrifying starting duo in the majors. The Brewers also have a deep stable of prospects to offer, and USA TODAY’s Steve Gardner said infielder Luis Pena and left-handed pitcher Robert Gasser could get the Tigers to bite.

2026: 16 starts, 96⅔ innings pitches, 7-5 record, 2.79 ERA, 116 strikeouts, 0.910 WHIP
2025: 31 starts, 195⅓ IP, 13-6, 2.21 ERA (1st in AL), 241 K’s, .0891 WHIP (1st in MLB), AL Cy Young
2024: 31 starts, 192 IP, 18-4 (most wins in MLB), 2.39 ERA (1st in AL), 228 K’s (1st in MLB), 0.922 WHIP, AL Cy Young
2023: 15 starts, 80⅓ IP, 7-3, 2.80 ERA, 102 K’s, 0.896 WHIP
2022: 21 starts, 117⅔ IP, 7-8, 3.52 ERA, 117 K’s, 1.156 WHIP
2021: 31 games (29 starts), 149⅓ IP, 8-12, 4.34 ERA, 164 K’s, 1.259 WHIP
2020: 8 games (7 starts), 32 IP, 1-4, 5.63 ERA, 37K’s, 1.219 WHIP