On the night that he won his second consecutive Cy Young Award, Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal addressed the trade rumors that have been swirling around his name in recent weeks.
“Contract extension stuff is a little bit different, but trade stuff is out of my control,” Skubal said, per Detroit Free Press‘ Evan Petzold. “I’ve given everything I have to this organization. I want to be a Tiger for a very long time. … I love Detroit. Hopefully, I’m here. That’s where I’m at with all of that.”
Some Tigers fans might be comforted by Skubal’s words, while others might point out that Skubal’s basically just saying the politically correct thing.
Either way, the outside noise on a potential Skubal trade will continue to grow in volume, unless he signs an extension with Detroit. After a recent report from the New York Post‘s Jon Heyman suggested that Skubal and the Tigers were extremely far apart on extension negotiations, trade buzz kicked into high gear.
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Suddenly, Skubal-New York Mets rumors started emerging from every direction. There’s been no evidence that Skubal wants to be traded or is likely to be traded. It’s all speculation, and yet the general baseball public has treated it like a foregone conclusion.
It’s understandable from a fan’s perspective. When a back-to-back Cy Young has even the slightest chance to get moved, people get really, really excited.
And the contract extension disagreements — if real — poses a serious issue to the Tigers that would theoretically put them in a position where trading Skubal makes sense, so as to recoup some value before he hits free agency next offseason.
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The most logical outcome, of course, is that Detroit does whatever is necessary to keep Skubal in house. Time will tell, and the rumors will keep flying until then.
