The questions will only grow louder as deadline day nears. They're quickly escalating around Tarik Skubal: Will the Tigers trade him? Will they ultimately build around him? What's his future in Detroit?
"July is such a rumor-filled conversation," A.J. Hinch said Friday on 97.1 The Ticket as the Tigers prepared to kick off the second half of the season in Toronto. "Personally, I want to buy. I want us to be in a position year after year after year to add talent, and obviously Tarik is a tremendous talent. That’s above my decision-making, but I know every five days that we have a chance to win the game because Tarik’s pitching. It was great to see him on the center stage (at the All-Star Game)."
Now, Skubal takes center stage in the trade conversation ahead of July 30. He's not so much on the market as he is not not on the market. Scott Harris and the Tigers aren't actively shopping their best player and one of the best pitchers in baseball, but they'll listen to offers. The Orioles want him , and have the prospects to potentially get him . The Dodgers and other contenders lurk.
"It’s not a conversation that Scott and I have ever had," said Hinch. "So I don't know where all these rumors start, but I think everybody knows how I feel about high-end starting pitching and Tarik specifically, that as a manager, man, you want to write his name in the lineup every five days."
The conversation about Skubal is rather straightforward: If Harris doesn't think the Tigers can build a contender before Skubal reaches free agency after the 2026 season, trading him for a haul of young hitters deserves consideration. The Tigers still lack bats.
Hinch, of course, would rather see the Tigers take a win-now approach. They enter the second half 7.0 games back in the wild-card race with four teams to jump, but they went into the All-Star break playing their best baseball of the seasons. They won eight of 10, highlighted by series wins over the first-place Guardians and the first-place Dodgers.
The Tigers haven't added at the deadline since 2014, which happens to be the last time they made the playoffs. Their nine-year drought is tied for the longest in the majors. Asked if he's talked with Harris about buying, Hinch said, "We haven’t had the full conversation, we will as we get closer."
"We gotta earn that," he said. "Obviously these wins have made us all feel really good the last 10 days, but we’re still under .500 so I want to be very realistic. Somebody said the other day that we gotta get on a heater. We gotta continue to do well if we want to factor in.
"But as the manager, I do believe in the talent of this group. And obviously we need more talent to be better, but I try to keep all that stuff out of our clubhouse and just stay away from the rumor mill."
In some ways, Harris' decision is in the Tigers' hands. They play 12 games in a row between now and the deadline, starting with three this weekend against the Blue Jays and four next week against the Guardians.
"It’s why we preach all the time in the clubhouse and the dugout, everything matters. Because every game does matter," said Hinch. "I have no idea what direction — I know what everybody keeps talking about and I know the wins are better than the losses. But I think when you keep winning, you keep the conversation alive and that’s our responsibility on the field."
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