Red Sox ‘Well-Positioned’ To Trade For $400M Superstar

The Boston Red Sox are focused on adding starting pitching and could prefer trading for one rather than signing one, according to The Athletic’s Jim Bowden. Tarik Skubal could be a target given his contract situation.

Skubal and the Detroit Tigers reportedly are far apart in contract negotiations. He is slated to be a free agent after next season, and if the Tigers do not envision a deal getting done, a trade would make plenty of sense. Plenty of teams would be interested, and according to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Red Sox could be in a solid position to get him.

“The Red Sox are well-positioned to make a run at Skubal, if they want,” Olney wrote. “The only sure thing in this situation, it seems, is that Skubal will not sign a long-term deal with Detroit before he reaches free agency, and that will frame the Tigers’ decision-making.”

The Tigers could land an array of young players by trading their ace, as opposed to losing him for nothing in free agency.

Trading for Skubal is half the battle. Any team that deals away valuable prospects will need to turn around and pay him for it to truly be worth it. Back in May, ESPN’s Jeff Passan projected that Skubal’s contract would be at least $400 million in total value.

Skubal won the American League Cy Young Award last year. He is a finalist and the favorite to win the award again this season. Garrett Crochet is also a finalist, so trading for Skubal would mean the Red Sox have two of the best pitchers in the American League.

Skubal has had the best ERA in the American League in each of the last two seasons. He broke out as a superstar in 2023 and could dominate for years to come.