MLB Execs Weigh in on Potential Tarik Skubal Price Amid Trade Rumors
The Detroit Tigers entered the 2026 MLB season with high hopes after a playoff trip last season.
However, in mid-May, the Tigers are trending in the wrong direction and have injuries to some big names, most notably being star pitcher and reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
Skubal underwent surgery at the beginning of May to have loose bodies removed from his elbow, and his timeframe for a return was somewhere between 2 and 3 months.
This past offseason, Skubal won his arbitration case and landed a whopping amount with a record-breaking $32 million for this season.
However, with the Tigers losing games and Skubal likely to hit free agency this winter, his name has been tossed around in trade rumblings.
What a return could look like for Detroit remains to be seen, and nobody knows if the Tigers will even consider trading him.
Still, FanSided's Robert Murray asked three MLB executives what a return could net Detroit for Skubal.
One executive said the Tigers could get a top-100 and a top-15 prospect and a throw-in. Another said maybe two top-10 prospects.
And, the third had a bit of a different outlook.
"It's so difficult to tell but I think it would start at one top-50 and another top-100 prospect. If it was a top-10 prospect in the game maybe it could be that plus a fringe top-100 guy also (plus probably 1-2 throw-in types," the executive told Murray.
As you can see, the return varies based on who is asked, and one executive even said it would likely be somebody such as Dave Dombrowski, AJ Preller or Andrew Friedman who makes the move.
Tarik Skubal Trade Rumors Heat Up
An anonymous MLB GM recently told USA Today's Bob Nightengale that he doesn't foresee the Tigers moving Skubal.
But the rumblings picked up on Thursday after MLB insider Jon Heyman's post on X, saying SKubal's trade chances are "rising."
Tarik Skubal trade chances are rising.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 21, 2026
1. Tigers have lost 14 of 16 and are in last and 5 games out in WC race. 2. Tigers have 5 starters on IL. 3. Skubal is progressing since elbow scope. 4. Tigers chances to extend him are nil.
At some point, Detroit needs to seriously consider whether or not to get some assets for Skubal or ride out this season and risk seeing him walk away entirely after the end of the season.
As the trade deadline gets closer, there figures to be some clarity.
Related: Anonymous MLB GM Weighs in on Potential Tarik Skubal Trade
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 9:46 AM.