Surging into postseason contention despite a decimated rotation, Chicago is scouting Detroit’s dominant southpaw to anchor their staff for a deep October run as the trade deadline looms.
The Chicago Cubs are trending toward being buyers at this year’s trade deadline.
After going 7-22 in a rough stretch from May 9 to June 10, the Cubs have played much better baseball over the last few weeks. They have won 14 of their last 18 games and have won five of their last six series.
This recent hot streak has now put the North Siders in a great spot to acquire a premier player at the August 3rd trade deadline. The Cubs currently own the top Wild Card spot in the National League and are slowly closing the gap between them and the Brewers in the NL Central standings.
Given all the injuries to their pitching staff, the Cubs are going to be in the market for a top-of-the-line starting pitcher at the deadline next month. It’s almost a must to acquire a quality starter if they want to make a deep postseason run.
Cade Horton is out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April. Justin Steele will not start any games this season following a setback in late April, and it’s unclear when Ben Brown will return after suffering a neck strain.
That has Chicago in the market for a starting pitcher.
And there is no better pitcher to acquire at the trade deadline than Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal. Skubal is a back-to-back American League Cy Young winner and would be a massive get for a Cubs team that desperately needs an ace.
While it won’t be cheap to trade for Skubal, Chicago’s front office appears to be toying with the idea of going after him at the deadline.
On the Kap & J. Hood podcast on Wednesday morning, David Kaplan reported that the Cubs have done their homework on the Tigers left-hander. Here’s what Kaplan had to say when he brought up Skubal on his podcast segment.
“They’ve done their homework. Not saying they're going to get him, [but] they've done their homework. I know he had a little elbow procedure done. Skubal destroyed the Yankees last night. Tigers win big in a blowout, but wow, did he look dominant.”
It is growing more likely that Detroit will trade Skubal by the August 3rd trade deadline. The Tigers are 12 games under .500 (37-49) at this point in the season and are behind six teams for the final Wild Card spot in the American League.
If the Tigers do eventually put Skubal on the trade block, it sounds like the Cubs could be in play for the Cy Young pitcher. They will have to part ways with several prospects, but it could be a move that helps them make a deep postseason run.
Last month, we dove into a potential trade package for Skubal here at Cubs Roundtable. A package involving Jaxon Wiggins (No. 4), Kevin Alcantara, and Dominick Reid (No. 14) could be enticing for Detroit.
