Struggling with a bottom-10 rotation ERA, Chicago could target an elite ace. Discover the blockbuster proposal sending three top prospects to Detroit for back-to-back Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
The Chicago Cubs will need to add starting pitching at this year’s trade deadline.
Although Edward Cabrera has recently returned and Matthew Boyd will return from his injury soon, the Cubs are still feeling the loss of Cade Horton. They have a bottom-10 rotation ERA since May 1 and need to acquire a game-changer on the mound.
What better pitcher to acquire than back-to-back Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal?
With the Detroit Tigers sitting at 12 games under .500 at this point in the season, it’s growing more likely that the Tigers could trade away Skubal by the August 3rd deadline. Skubal is in the final year of his deal, and the two sides weren’t close on a contract extension this past offseason.
In Jeff Passan’s trade deadline preview last week, he listed the Cubs' best fit as Skubal. Passan then went on to say that the North Siders need an ace and should do whatever it takes to acquire one of the best pitchers in the game.
It’s definitely going to cost a lot to acquire Skubal. He will cost any team multiple top prospects, and the Cubs will be competing with plenty of aggressive teams, including the Dodgers, Yankees, and Blue Jays.
So, what would it cost to land Skubal?
Here’s what it might take to land the Cy Young pitcher.
Cubs Receive: Tarik Skubal
Tigers Receive: Jaxon Wiggins, Kevin Alcantara, Dominick Reid
If the Cubs are willing to go all in at the deadline, this could be a potential trade package for Skubal. They would land the Tigers left-hander in exchange for their No. 3 prospect (Wiggins), No. 5 prospect (Alcantara), and No. 15 prospect (Reid).
The Tigers are likely going to want at least one high-upside pitching prospect in return in any trade involving Skubal. In this case, the Cubs give them two with Wiggins and Reid. Wiggins is the best pitching prospect in the system, while Reid has looked good at the Single-A level this year.
The Cubs also give Detroit a potential high-upside bat in Alcantara. Alcantara is out of options after this season, so Chicago’s front office could look to move him at the trade deadline if they don’t believe in his big league potential.
No one really knows what it will take to acquire a back-to-back Cy Young pitcher on an expiring deal. There aren’t many pitchers of Skubal’s caliber that have been put on the trade block in MLB history.
But it will take a lot to land him.
The Cubs will no doubt have to part ways with several top prospects if a deal were to transpire. It could be a move, though, that is much needed for the North Siders at the trade deadline later this summer.
A combination of some of their top pitching prospects (Wiggins, Reid, and Kaleb Wing) and top hitting prospects (Jefferson Rojas, Pedro Ramirez, and Alcantara) would probably be the starting point in any deal involving Skubal.
