Mariners Trade Proposal: The Tigers making Tarik Skubal available

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!