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Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal discusses trade deadline: 'It's kind of a compliment'
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- Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal discusses trade deadline: 'It's kind of a compliment'
It was the afternoon of July 29.
One day before the trade deadline, a national reporter said there was a 50% chance that the Detroit Tigers would trade left-hander Tarik Skubal to the Baltimore Orioles .
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The Tigers — led by president of baseball operations Scott Harris — were always listening to offers in case of a franchise-changing opportunity, but contrary to the report, Harris never came close to trading Skubal at the July 30 trade deadline .
"It's my job to listen on anything," Harris said Sunday on MLB Network Radio's " Front Office ," hosted by Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette. "I got to look out for the Tigers first, so I need to listen on any player if there's a credible and compelling way to make the Tigers better. With a player like Tarik Skubal , we just never got close to that. I think a lot of the reports out there were overblown. We never were in a position where we were going to move Tarik, but at the end of the day, especially before deadlines like this, it's my job to listen, so I did listen, but we never got close to anything."
HE STAYS: Tigers 'never came close' to trading ace Tarik Skubal at 2024 trade deadline
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws a pitch against the Kansas City Royals in the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024.
Skubal, of course, took notice of all the trade rumors.
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He is under team control for the next two seasons before becoming a free agent after the 2026 season.
"I have no control on it, so it is what it is," Skubal said Tuesday on " Foul Territory ," hosted by Scott Braun. "That's what I think about it. The trade deadline stuff, you can make it stressful as a player if you're really worried about where you're going or how things are going to end up, so I try to just focus on taking the mound and being me out there."
MORE ABOUT HIM: How Tigers' Tarik Skubal matured into an Opening Day ace with Cy Young potential
Skubal, a first-time All-Star, is the frontrunner to the win the American League Cy Young Award with less than two months remaining in the 2024 season, his fifth year in the big leagues. He owns a 2.57 ERA with 26 walks and 162 strikeouts across 136⅓ innings in 22 starts.
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As the July 30 trade deadline approached, manager A.J. Hinch told Skubal that he would keep him posted if he heard anything concrete about trade talks with other teams. Skubal had learned to block out the noise after being at the center of rumors leading up to the 2022 trade deadline ; that season, he suffered an elbow injury on the day before the deadline, which led to flexor tendon surgery .
In 2024, Skubal never heard anything from Hinch.
"There wasn't really a ton of fact to any of it," Skubal said. "Honestly, it's kind of a compliment as a player. If you're linked in all these trade rumors, it means teams want you, so there is some sort of positive you can kind of take out of that."
WHAT WENT DOWN: Inside Tigers trade deadline: How Jack Flaherty ended up with Los Angeles Dodgers
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Skubal, though, watched as the Tigers unloaded players on expiring contracts to postseason contenders in exchange for minor leaguers, trading outfielder Mark Canha , left-hander Andrew Chafin , right-hander Jack Flaherty and catcher Carson Kelly .
The Tigers traded Flaherty, who had a 2.95 ERA in 18 starts, to the Los Angeles Dodgers , the second-best team in the National League. Remember, Skubal set postseason expectations for the Tigers in spring training, but Harris didn't set the same goal .
The Tigers are likely to miss the playoffs for the 10th season in a row.
"Losing Jack, you don't want to be on the team that's trading away players, you want to be on the team that's trading for players," Skubal said. "Jack being the best starter available at the deadline, it obviously sucks losing that caliber player, especially being in the rotation with him. If I go Game 1 and he goes Game 2, I like our odds at winning those games. It doesn't matter who we're playing.
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"Losing him is tough. The competitor that he is, I loved getting to know him. He was a great dude, great teammate. He took care of everybody on the team with team dinners and all that stuff. I got a ton of respect for him. I'm excited to see what he does in L.A."
Flaherty threw six scoreless innings Saturday in his Dodgers debut, scattering five hits and a walk while striking out seven Oakland Athletics on the road.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal on trade talks: 'Kind of a compliment'
