The Tigers’ decision at the trade deadline with Tarik Skubal could improve the White Sox’ outlook or create a postseason nightmare.
The Chicago White Sox figure to be one of the more active teams at the upcoming MLB trade deadline.
The Sox need a catcher, a bullpen arm, and at least one, if not two, starting pitchers. And if we take GM Chris Getz at his word, or believe the current reports out there, the White Sox plan to be fairly aggressive in addressing those needs.
While the White Sox will make some news over the next week, and while Chicago has been the story of baseball in 2026, another team will be under the brightest spotlight as the trade deadline approaches. Everybody is looking at the Detroit Tigers and what they decide to do with back-to-back Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.
But even that decision should have serious implications for the White Sox, both now and in the future.
So what exactly should Sox fans be hoping for?
Right now, there seem to be four distinct possibilities for what the Tigers could do with Skubal. One option is that they simply don't trade him at all. Detroit is 50-57, 6.0 games back in the AL Central and 4.0 games out of an AL wild card spot. The Tigers pushed their chips in when they decided not to trade Skubal last offseason, then doubled down by signing Framber Valdez to a three-year, $115 million contract. If Detroit believes it has a chance to make a run and sneak into the postseason, it could choose to keep Skubal and hope for the best.
The other option is, of course, a trade, in which case three teams are reportedly the most serious contenders to land Skubal at the deadline: the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays.
For White Sox fans, three of these four outcomes could prove to be positive.
If the Tigers opt to hold on to Skubal, they are forfeiting the significant return of prospect capital they'd receive in a trade. That, of course, keeps the Tigers as a team to watch in the rearview mirror in the AL Central, which has drawbacks of its own for the White Sox. But if the Tigers don't end up making a run at the division and lose out on an opportunity to cash in on the best pitcher in baseball, that's a long-term win for the White Sox.
It's a decision that could hurt Detroit for years to come.
If the Tigers do move Skubal, a trade to either the Milwaukee Brewers or Los Angeles Dodgers would be a preferred outcome for the White Sox. Detroit essentially punts on the 2026 season, giving the White Sox one fewer team to worry about. Skubal also goes to the National League, where he'll only affect the White Sox in a World Series scenario.
Chicago has already played the Brewers and Dodgers in 2026 and won't see either of them again during the regular season.
A trade to the Tampa Bay Rays, however, is unquestionably the worst possible outcome for the White Sox. Tampa Bay has a fairly strong farm system with three of the top 100 prospects in baseball, excluding shortstop Grady Emerson, the second overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. Some of those top prospects would almost certainly be going to the Tigers in the deal, brightening Detroit's future with players who could hurt the White Sox down the line.
It would also strengthen the Rays, who currently hold the best record in the American League at 62-43. If the White Sox are able to win the AL Central and return to the postseason for the first time since 2021, they may end up having to go through Tampa Bay. That team is already scary enough and swept the White Sox earlier this season. Adding Tarik Skubal would make the Rays even more dangerous.
For White Sox fans, the hope should be that Detroit holds on to Skubal and lives to regret it, or ships him to the National League, where he won't come back to haunt the White Sox. But if a team like the Rays ends up landing him, a division rival improves its future while the two-time Cy Young Award winner strengthens an AL foe that already has the upper hand on the White Sox in a potential playoff series.
