The Cubs have made no secret of their desire to add a starting pitcher and at least enter the top of the market. Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports that the Cubs are considering a push Tarik Skubal between their various rotation possibilities.
Skubal made what may be his last start in a Tigers uniform on Wednesday. He pitched well, working 6 2/3 frames of three-run ball with six strikeouts. Skubal went six scoreless innings but ran into trouble in the seventh. Kyle Finnegan again Drew Anderson they couldn’t hold their 7-0 lead. The Tigers ended up dropping a 10-9 heartbreaker in 12 innings.
Detroit dropped two of three against Baltimore after losing the last two games of last week’s four-game sweep against Kansas City. They are seven games under .500 at 51-58. Detroit is off tomorrow before traveling to West Sacramento for a three-game homestand against the A’s. That sounds like a must-win streak, but it’s unclear whether even a sweep will be enough to avoid a sellout.
The Tigers are in fourth place in the AL Central. They are just 5.5 games behind the 4.5-game leading White Sox in the Wild Card race. The biggest obstacle is the number of teams you have to jump.
Detroit will need to get past Minnesota, Cleveland and Chicago in the division or five clubs in the Wild Card race. They need to play for 95 wins just to finish the season at .500. Getting to 84 wins will require a 33-20 showing (101 win pace) from here on out. The Tigers feel they are a better team than their record suggests, but their brutal May has left them with a bit of a flaw.
Skubal’s CV speaks for itself. He is a two-time Cy Young defensive player who is having another great season despite dealing with an elbow in early May. He is one of the three best strikers in the sport, arguably the best. No one else on the trade block could have a major impact on the team’s chances of winning the 2026 World Series. The chances of an extension two months away from what should be a record-breaking contract are virtually non-existent. He’s a recruit who could command a big return in what could be one deadline run.
The Cubs should add a playoff-caliber starter. They have been arrested Reid Detmerseligible for arbitration in 2028. Mooney surprisingly notes that he would like to add a controllable arm to the leased area, but won’t rule it out completely on the latter route.
Matthew Boyd again Shota Imanaga they are two of Chicago’s top starters right now. They have to find out Edward Cabrera he’s back from a sore hamstring next month, but has a long injury history and hasn’t played as well as he’d hoped this year even when healthy. Ben Brown has an uncertain return timeline from neck strain. Cubs are designated Jameson Taillon for the share this week, to open the exchange. Javier Assad will make a spot start tomorrow against St. Louis but should move back to be free if/when they trade the former.
Chicago will need to gauge whether it can take the swing of its best recruiting arm in years in a season where it could face a three-game Wild Card Series either way. The Cubs are six games back of Milwaukee in the NL Central. FanGraphs gives them a 14% chance to win the division (which sounds high). They’ll obviously feel good about their chances of taking Game 1 of any series with Skubal on the mound, but any three-game set is much closer to a penny.
The Brewers, Rays and Dodgers are also tied to Skubal. All three of those teams won their divisions and are currently in a first-round bye. Most of the contestants will at least contact Detroit baseball president Scott Harris in the next few days. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported last night that multiple teams have begun contacting each other after the Tigers dropped the first game of the series to Baltimore on Monday.
