Tarik Skubal Next Team Odds - Dodgers, Yankees Among Favorites to Land Ace

Tarik Skubal is set to be the MLB Trade Deadline's big fish. With a record-setting payday around the corner, the Tigers will likely try to flip their ace for as many prospects as possible as their playoff chances continue to dwindle.

We've broken down the most likely destinations, with odds courtesy of Kalshi.

The usual suspects that would make every baseball fan throw their phone in disgust after getting the alert.

Whenever an All-Star is available, LA seems to be in the mix, and it would make sense even as a rental. The Dodgers have both a need in the pitching staff, and enough depth in the farm system to make the deal happen.

When looking ahead to the playoffs, the rotation would likely consist of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Justin Wrobleski, and Emmet Sheehan (assuming Roki Sasaki is relegated to bullpen work again).

Sheehan or Wrobleski would likely be one of the centerpieces of the deal, effectively swapping out that spot for Skubal.

Absolutely no one wants to see it happen, but it makes sense that LA is the leading favorite.

A hot start to the season propelled the Braves to the top of the NL East, but staying at the top has proven trickier since the Phillies caught fire.

A trade for a player of Skubal's level would likely cost top-level prospects like JR Ritchie and/or Cam Caminiti. A painful pill to swallow, for sure, but likely worth the price if there's any chance of retaining the southpaw in free agency.

Skubal probably makes Atlanta the Dodgers' main competition in the NL, so they have to at least think about it.

Similar to the Dodgers, the Yankees are always going to be involved whenever top players are available. However, they're lacking the farm system firepower to compete with some of the other most-likely destinations.

The package heading back to Detroit would likely include outfield prospect Spencer Jones and one of the Yankees' two top pitching prospects. By no means a bad haul, but for an ace coming off back-to-back Cy Youngs, it may be a bit hard for the Detroit front office to stomach.

You can never count the Yankees out, but I'd wager a real Skupal pursuit would have to wait until free agency.

Since firing Rob Thomson and promoting Don Mattingly to Manager, the Phillies have been one of the hottest teams in baseball with a 40-19 record since making the switch.

The ace combo of Christopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler, aided by Jesus Luzardo, has been stellar at the top of the rotation. On the flip side, Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter have been abysmal to round things out, so another rotation arm is definitely necessary.

However, there probably isn't enough firepower in the war chest to make this deal go through. Aidan Miller would be the top prospect piece to send over, but outside of him, I'm not sure there are too many attractive pieces in the farm system. Painter has all but tanked his value with the start to his career, so he is probably off the table. 

Would a package of Miller and Gage Wood make Detroit pick up the phone? Maybe, but there will probably be better offers from teams with more highly respected farm systems.

This is likely the most interesting and fun trade destination. Since there's very little history to suggest the organization would be willing to spend the hundreds of millions needed to keep Skubal in Tampa, this would be a virtually guaranteed rental.

It's virtually unheard of in the history of the organization to make a huge win-now move like that. On the other hand, their sluggers are absolutely mashing, and this might be their best chance 

The question is whether the organization would be willing to swallow the prospect price for a rental, as one of their two top prospects like Carson Williams or Theo Gillen would likely have to be included for Detroit to pull the trigger.

It would be out of character, but with how they've performed so far this year, it might be time to take a big swing.

Of course, it's no guarantee that Detroit decides to move on during the season. They could always play out the season and try to either re-sign him or settle for a comp pick.

Still, this seems unlikely. 

There have been very few reports of any contract talks between the two sides, and settling for a comp pick would be a disaster for the Tigers organization.

A trade of this magnitude could kickstart the next era of Tigers baseball, so my money would be on a trade coming by July's deadline.