The Tarik Skubal sweepstakes are going to heat up very soon. The trade deadline is now exactly one month away, and teams in contention are going to be trying to put the finishing touches on their roster for the stretch run, while those out of contention will look towards the future and sell off some of their assets.
Skubal is expected to be the top name moved at the deadline with the Detroit Tigers out of contention. All the usual suspects will be making a run at him this summer, but some other teams that might not be expected to try for him could potentially make a play as well.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report made some trade predictions with the deadline a month away, and he had a surprise team winning the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes: the Tampa Bay Rays.
“It still feels likely that Skubal will be spending the final two months of the regular season with the highest bidder—with many resigned to the fact that it’s probably going to be the Dodgers,” Miller wrote.
“But what if the Rays did the most un-Rays thing ever and took a huge swing on a rental in hopes of both locking up the AL’s No. 1 seed and having a rotation good enough to win the first World Series in franchise history?
“They have a strong top three in Drew Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan and Nick Martinez, but there’s plenty of room for improvement with Griffin Jax and a rotating opener rounding out this rotation.”
Could Rays Be Tarik Skubal Favorites?
The Rays are already leading the American League East by four games over the New York Yankees.
They also have the best record in the American League, so it might not be too much of a stretch to assume that they might be in play for somebody like Skubal. That could put them in a great position to potentially emerge as the pennant winners this coming fall and challenge the Los Angeles Dodgers for a World Series title.
The Rays need a true ace if they want to make a run, and Skubal could be just what they need in order to finally get over the hump. They have not been to the World Series since 2020, but Skubal might be all they need to get back to where they want to go. He has won back-to-back Cy Young awards and has proven to be a solid postseason pitcher as well.
Rays’ Skubal Prediction Comes With Catch
The popular consensus is that Skubal will ultimately end up with the Dodgers, but the Rays have the prospects to get a deal done. The only issue then would be re-signing him. They don’t typically sign star players to mega deals, so in order to keep him, they would have to step out of their comfort zone and pay a big price.
And that is if they are even able to land him in a trade. The Dodgers should be the most aggressive pursuers of Skubal, so the Rays might get priced out.
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