Surprising Tarik Skubal Report Emerges From MLB Winter Meetings

The MLB Winter Meetings ended on a sour note for Boston Red Sox fans who were hoping to see their club land slugger Pete Alonso. The Polar Bear ended up signing with the Baltimore Orioles on a five-year, $155 million deal, and both Red Sox and New York Mets supporters are still trying to figure out what happened.

Nonetheless, the MLB offseason is still relatively young, and there are other potential acquisitions for teams to sink their teeth into. While the Red Sox are believed to be prioritizing the addition of another bat or two at the moment, they’re likely monitoring the ongoing Tarik Skubal buzz … because who wouldn’t be?

While it’s widely believed that the Detroit Tigers will hold onto Skubal for the 2026 season, there are some pundits (like TSN’s Steve Phillips) who feel that the Tigers absolutely should trade Skubal this winter in order to recoup some assets before Skubal enters free agency next offseason and is in line for a $400 million or $450 million deal (which Detroit’s unlikely to pay).

Interestingly, a new report from ESPN emerged on Thursday in the wake of the Winter Meetings, and ESPN’s Jorge Castillo revealed in the article that he’s heard a Skubal trade is probably going to happen this offseason.

When asked to name the most surprising thing that Castillo learned at Winter Meetings, Castillo provided a Skubal-themed answer.

“That a Tarik Skubal trade is likely,” Castillo said. “Here’s what we know: Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris can shut down speculation by simply saying he is not trading Skubal and he has not done that. Instead, he noted this week that there aren’t any “untouchables” on his roster. Trading the best pitcher in baseball when you’re trying to compete would upset the fan base, but the Tigers, knowing re-signing Skubal next winter is unlikely, appear open to it.”

For the Red Sox and other contenders who could be looking to make a gigantic splash this winter, it sounds like a Skubal deal is not impossible, depending on which team is willing to overpay with a boatload of top-level prospects, all for a possible one-year rental of the two-time Cy Young winner Skubal.

While giving away a ton of assets for one year of Skubal is a risk — even for clubs confident that they could convince Skubal to re-sign with them next offseason — there’s also the fact that pulling off a massive trade for Skubal would pretty much glorify whichever front office did so, at least in the eyes of fans.

This might be something for the Mets to think about while they are mired in what most fans are labeling a complete failure of an offseason. And while Boston’s offseason can’t be described that way, the Red Sox might be checking in on Skubal, too.