The rumors will only grow between now and the deadline, and Tarik Skubal will do his best to tune them out. The Tigers are going to get calls. How they respond remains to be seen.
"None of that’s in my control. It’s a lot of noise and you just don’t want that to take away from what your job is and what you’re trying to do every time out," Skubal said Wednesday on The Zach Gelb Show. "It’s the business part of the game and I don’t have any say in it, so that’s how I think about it. ... I really try not to think about it."
The Tigers do have to think about it. They still want for bats in their protracted rebuild, and trading Skubal could bring them a haul. If they don't have plans to either contend with Skubal under team control or extend him before he hits free agency after the 2026 season, they have to at least entertain the idea of moving him. That is Scott Harris' duty between now and the July 30th trade deadline.
Skubal, 27, has established himself this season as one of the best pitchers in baseball. But his Cy Young-caliber performance and the general strength of the Tigers' rotation hasn't stopped the team from tumbling back down the standings. Detroit is on track to miss the playoffs for the 10th year in a row.
Asked what he thinks the Tigers are building, Skubal sounded mildly hopeful about the future: "I think we've got a good team, a good young core, a lot of guys that are learning at this level and developing. And we've got a bunch of guys that like to work and work hard."
"I like that, I like our odds. I like us finishing strong before the All-Star break and then everyone getting a little reset and come out hot in the second half and see what happens. The season’s not over, by any means. I’m excited for this team and for this organization."
Read into that what you will. The Tigers did win their sixth game in the past seven Thursday against the Guardians, but remain 7.0 games back in the wild card race. They do have some emerging young hitters in All-Star Riley Greene and more recently Colt Keith, but their lineup is still full of holes. And Harris isn't in any particular rush to fill them.
We'll see what that means for Skubal. He'd just rather not think about it. He has work to do, continuing Friday night against the Dodgers at Comerica Park.