I’ve given the Jim Bowden preamble before, but I feel like it’s important that I do this every single time I run with anything he writes. It might not be completely fair to Bowden, but it wouldn’t be completely fair to this audience if I didn’t.

More than any time in the history of modern media, it’s vital to consider your source.

So when I saw The Athletic published its contract predictions for the top 50 free agents available this MLB hot stove season, I immediately jumped to the byline to see who had worked on the piece.

Ken Rosenthal? Andy McCullough? Evan Drellich?

Nope.

Jim Bowden.

…OK, so we’re taking this whole thing with a grain of salt.

For those unfamiliar, here’s Bowden’s bio on his author page on The Athletic’s website:

“Jim Bowden, a national writer for The Athletic MLB, was formerly the Sr. VP and general manager for the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals for a combined 16 years, including being named the 1999 MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America. He is the lead MLB Analyst and Insider for CBS Sports-HQ and a regular talk-show host on SiriusXM for the MLB Network and Fantasy channels. Follow him on twitter: @JimBowdenGM.”

Notice a key title missing from Bowden’s bio:

Reporter.

Bowden is known throughout the industry as someone who plays a little fast-and-loose when it comes to rumors and hearsay. I’m not telling you to discount everything he says at all times, but I am asking you to take everything he says with a grain of salt.

With that said, this blurb from his column on Wednesday perked my ears:

“The Red Sox are focused on adding starting pitching, and they have plenty of prospects in their strong farm system to perhaps trade for top arms like Tarik Skubal, Hunter Greene or Freddy Peralta. They also have the financial freedom to land one of the top starters in free agency, though trading for a top-tier starter is their preferred route.”

Let’s focus in on the enormous name Bowden listed as a part of the three possibilities:

Tarik Skubal, Tigers

So this name certainly perked my ears.

He’s the defending AL Cy Young Award winner, and he’s more-than-likely to win the award again for 2025.

He went 13-6 with an AL-leading 2.21 ERA this season, striking out 241 batters in 195.1 innings. That strikeout total ranks second in all of baseball behind Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet. He also led the majors in WHIP at 0.89, and was seventh in batting average against at .200.

So why in the world would Detroit want to trade this lefty that turns 29 later this month?

Here’s what my colleague Brady Farkas wrote on Roundtable:

“He's headed into the final year of his contract and is still affordable through arbitration. However, reports indicate that he and the Tigers are nowhere close in negotiations on a long-term deal. If they think they are going to lose him for nothing next offseason, then they may want to cash in now, similar to when the Brewers traded Corbin Burnes before the 2024 season.”

If this is a real possibility, and Bowden isn’t just grabbing this from thin air, Craig Breslow needs to make this happen. Don’t let the Dodgers or Yankees get this guy. Make the trade, and extend him immediately. Getting Skubal wouldn’t just fill your No. 2 void, it would give you a second No. 1 a la Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez back in 2004. This is the type of move you make that truly vaults you into the World Series discussion.

Stay locked in to Roundtable for all the latest on this potential trade market for the Red Sox.

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.