Rays get exciting Tarik Skubal trade rumor amid aggressive deadline plan originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Tampa Bay Rays are currently sitting atop the AL East as the All-Star break is about to get underway. That also means there’s not much time before the trade deadline.
This season, the deadline is on August 3. With the Rays likely to be buyers, and aggressive buyers at that, there could be some fun additions on the horizon for the Rays.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, amid the Rays’ plan to be aggressive, they are reportedly setting their sights on Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers as a trade target this summer.
Rays have sights set on Tarik Skubal at trade deadline per MLB insider
“The Rays, who suddenly are seeing that the AL is wide open for the taking, plan to be aggressive buyers at the deadline,” Nightengale writes. “They not only have their eyes on Skubal, but they have shown interest in seeing whether the Diamondbacks would move second baseman Ketel Marte and Giants All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez as a backup plan.”
They’ve attempted to land a superstar before, showing interest in Shohei Ohtani during the 2023 season when he was still with the Los Angeles Angels.
Now, the Rays have their eyes set on a potential deal for Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal this summer. It’s going to be pricey, but adding Skubal would be worth it.
The back-to-back AL Cy Young winner in 2024 and 2025 would be an incredible pickup for the Rays’ rotation. Heh, as a 3.06 ERA this season with a 5-4 record and 1.9 bWAR in 12 starts for the Tigers this season.
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He missed a while due to surgery on his elbow, but he’s still been a good pitcher since returning from this injury. Across 70.2 innings, he has 84 strikeouts and a 140 ERA+.
Skubal coming to Tampa Bay to pair with Dres Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan, and Nick Martinez would make for one of MLB’s best four-man rotations in the Majors.
There’s just one issue with this potential trade: the Tigers might not be sellers. Rays fans should root for every team facing the Tigers from now until the deadline, as Detroit falling behind in the postseason race is important to Skubal becoming available.
But, if nothing else, the Rays’ aggressive plan for this year’s deadline is likely to include a pursuit of Skubal. While landing him is a major unknown, the Rays are expected to be in pursuit of this lefty ace.
More MLB news:
- Cubs ‘realistic’ trade idea sends Seiya Suzuki to the Mariners for Luis Castillo
- Phillies trade idea lands Jung Hoo Lee and Robbie Ray from Giants for 2 prospects
- Yankees trade idea sends Carlos Lagrange to Athletics for utilityman Zack Gelof
- What did Blue Jays get for Tommy Nance? Twins send .855 OPS catcher prospect in trade
- Cardinals sign JJ Wetherholt to eight-year, $112.5 million contract extension
