The Detroit Tigers' 'no exclusions' demand for Tarik Skubal forces the Milwaukee Brewers into quite the predicament.
The Milwaukee Brewers seem focused on acquiring Detroit Tigers starter Tarik Skubal, but there's a world where they're beaten out by one of the many other teams interested.
The most obvious destination for Skubal is the Los Angeles Dodgers; it's just a matter of which team is going to give the Tigers the best offer.
In Ken Rosenthal's latest piece with Will Sammon for The Athletic, the senior baseball writer discussed the Brewers' chances and what the Tigers are looking for.
In a situation similar to that of the San Diego Padres and Mason Miller, it seems like the Tigers don't want teams to have untouchables. That's not always the easiest request to follow, especially for the Brewers, a team with the top farm system in all of baseball.
Brewers could get beat out for protecting their prospects
"The expectation among some rival executives is that [Scott] Harris will, at least initially, ask for “no exclusions” in the Skubal talks, requiring teams to make virtually every one of their young players available," Rosenthal said.
Ultimately, that's where Rosenthal sees the Brewers falling behind. He puts Milwaukee in the same category as the Tampa Bay Rays, simply because those two teams can't be as reckless, so to speak, as teams like the Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, or New York Yankees.
Rosenthal added, "The Brewers likely would be just as reluctant to part with shortstop Jesús Made and infielder Luis Peña. They might even balk at including right-hander Logan Henderson, the type of controllable starter the Tigers might want but the Brewers consider valuable to their major-league staff."
Brewers know they can be aggressive, but not for broke
This, by far, is the best time in recent memory for the Brewers to be aggressive at the trade deadline. There are quite a few notable starting pitchers on the market, and this team desperately needs to replace the likes of Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester.
Skubal has been picking back up since he returned from the Injured List, and one can only imagine how he'll look come October. This is the type of starter that doesn't come available often, but the Brewers know it would be a rental, and that's where things get dicey.
Having the league's best farm system is tremendous. It puts the Brewers in the driver's seat for numerous top stars across the league, as long as those organizations don't get greedy. Once that happens, there's no doubt Milwaukee will become dis-interested, and rightfully so.
There's still roughly a week to go before the trade deadline, but it's shaping up to be a wild one for Brewers fans.
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