Mariners Trade Proposal: The Tigers making Tarik Skubal available

With the trade deadline a week away, the Detroit Tigers let it be known that one of the best and most exciting players on their young team would be available for trade at the deadline. Jerry Dipoto has made it known that he is looking to trade for a starting pitcher, which is why I think the Mariners should be working pretty hard to figure out if acquiring Tarik Skubal would be worth it.

Plenty of fans out there have been clamoring for another starting pitcher. The Mariners have been lucky on the mound this year, with their core five starters looking healthy all season. It’s a tough ask to get that for an entire year though. If one of them could shift to the pen in a trade, they could slide back into the rotation in case anyone was injured.

With Skubal, the Mariners would be looking at not just a dominant rotation, but a young one as well.

Logan Gilbert is only 25. George Kirby is 24. Tarik Skubal is 25. Add in Hancock, Brash, Stoudt, Miller, or one of the other prospects coming up, and that’s a scary group for opponents.

The Mariners would have to get Tarik Skubal here first though. Before we look at a couple of different options for what it would take, let’s look at what he brings for those that aren’t that familiar with him.

With a 3.88 ERA on the season, Skubal has actually been much better. His FIP sits at 2.92. With a K rate just above 9 per nine, he would fit right in with Gilbert. He’s been good for 5-6 innings as well, averaging about 5.5 per start. It makes sense with him being young, and there’s no reason not to believe he would become a 6 IP per start guy. With what the Mariners have been able to find in the bullpen, that’s all they need.

He’s a good pitcher, and he also has a ton of control. Skubal is under team control through the 2026 season. If he does end up getting traded, his new team will have him for 4.5 seasons. It makes his value a bit tough to determine, but we can all agree that it would be pretty darn high.

So, here are a couple of options for what Dipoto and crew could offer the Tigers for Tarik Skubal.

Mariners Trade Proposal #1: Jarred Kelenic+some for Tarik Skubal

If we were talking about Kelenic’s value at the start of the 2021 season, then they would’ve needed more back in this deal. Instead, Skubal has been succeeding at the MLB level, while Kelenic struggled. It’s why if the Mariners are going to include Jarred Kelenic as the centerpiece in a deal like this, it would likely take a bit more to get Skubal.

Kelenic just turned 23, the same age as a handful of current top 25 prospects in all of baseball. He was younger than 55% of players in this year’s MLB Futures game. I’m saying this because he is still crazy young, and anyone who has written him off is a dummy.

“Wait, aren’t you writing him off by trading him?”

No, that isn’t what I’m doing. What I’m trying to do here is get the Mariners another stud young pitcher who will have a chance to give the Mariners one of the nastiest rotations in all of baseball. Ray, Gilbert, Skubal, and Kirby as your top 4? And rotation LHP, RHP, LHP, RHP? Yeah, that sounds wonderful to me. In order to do that, you’re going to have to give up some good talent, and Kelenic is the kind of guy that would need to be included.

Alongside him, I think some middling prospects from the Mariners would be necessary still. Bryce Miller has done well since being drafted by the Mariners last year and could be a “replacement” for Skubal, someone who would have a chance to come up in the near future and take a role in their rotation.

Finally, I’ll add Kaden Polcovich. He’s a bit lower of a prospect but has shown both power and speed at times in the minors. In AA, he has shown that the speed is real with a little diminished power, but is still walking at a great rate. With his age (23.3), he should get a shot next year sometime to see what he can do at the MLB level, even if it is a September callup.

Mariners Trade Proposal #3: Prospects and Chris Flexen for Tarik Skubal

Alright, bear with me for a minute here. The Tigers have looked alright at times, and Flexen is a mix of being experienced while having control still. Since Flexen was in the majors, then Korea, and then back in the majors, his situation is a bit odd. He has a decent option for 2023 based on IP or starts and would be at just $8 million. According to Spotrac, he would still be under team control through 2026.

What he would be for the Tigers is a reliable starter who can come out, and give you 5-6 IP while normally allowing just 2-3 runs. He is unlikely to ever be special, but he is the modern-day innings eater who just gets the job done. Low strikeouts, but low mistakes and low runs given up.

There would still need to be some good prospects coming over with Flexen, which is where Gabriel Gonzales and Starlin Aguilar come in. They are lower prospects than Alberto or Macko, but they are also a lot younger. Both are just 18, they would be unlikely to make any impact for the Tigers til 2025/26 at the earliest. Already sitting in the Mariners top 13 prospects (Gabriel Gonzalez is #7 and Aguilar is #13), they do have high ceilings and could end up being valuable players.

What do you think? Could the Mariners be in on Tarik Skubal? Which of these deals would you prefer to see go down? I know I’m not the only one that is hoping to see the Mariners be involved in a big-time deal, and it will be interesting to see if they use some of that prospect capital to acquire a high-level player. As always… Go Mariners!