With 10 games to play before the MLB trade deadline, can the Detroit Tigers avoid being sellers?
Before this MLB season even began, all eyes in the baseball world were on the Detroit Tigers. As the industry waited to see what the Tigers would do in their final season with back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, one thing was certain: It was going to be interesting.
Fast-forward to today, less than two weeks from the Aug. 3 trade deadline, and the baseball world is still waiting to see what Detroit will dowith the sport's top trade chip. Right now, the Tigers hold all the cards.
"I think we're pretty seasoned when it comes to backs against the wall or the urgency that comes with the last 50-60 games because we've played all scenarios," Tigers manager AJ Hinch said this week. "We've snuck up on people, we've also played with high expectations, and so our guys have gotten really good at compartmentalizing the series …
"We've had a really good two months, and we don't really look further than that."
Detroit is playing for its present and possibly its future in the final days before the trade deadline. The Tigers have been playing catch-up since a miserable start to the season that saw them go 22-38 over the first two months, tied for the worst record in baseball.
But for the past eight weeks, they've been one of the best teams in baseball, going 25-16, the fifth-best record in MLB in that span. With that run, Detroit has been clawing its way back up the AL wild-card standings. The Tigers have won five of their past six series, including taking two of three from the Chicago Cubs this week at Wrigley Field.
Through this hot stretch, pitching has carried the Tigers; over the past eight weeks, the Tigers rank first in MLB in team ERA. And it hasn't been just Skubal shouldering the load in his return from arthroscopic elbow surgery. Troy Melton, Keider Montero and Jack Flaherty have all been great as well, with ERAs under 3.00 during this stretch.
In playing a pseudo Game 7 every day until the deadline, as their manager described, the Tigers' job is simple: Make the decision of whether to sell at the deadline difficult for president of baseball operations Scott Harris. Lately, the players on the field are doing a good job of that.
"We get a lot of practice talking about our situation," Hinch said with a smile. "Every day, every city, and so it does build a callus to where there's no panic. There is a sense of urgency, but more importantly, there's a great understanding of what's at stake. I don't have to let guys know the importance of the next two months."
Harris has a lot to consider as he weighs short-term success in 2026 against the long-term outlook of his team's future. On one hand, the Tigers are playing their best baseball of the season lately. And in a weak American League with Detroit just 4.5 games out of the wild card, making a push for the postseason isn't out of the realm of possibility.
The other option, of course, is the uncomfortable one for the Tigers and the one the rest of baseball is hoping they choose. With just two months before Skubal hits free agency, Harris could opt to move his ace, the best trade asset potentially on the market. The Tigers would receive a nice haul for two months of Skubal, and the deal could set the franchise up for success following his departure. What's more, in a market in which few teams are opting to sell, Detroit being a seller could yield huge dividends.
The trade market is murkier than usual this close to the deadline, as many teams with losing records still aren't ready to be open for business, the Tigers included. Industry sources believe the chances Detroit moves Skubal are about 50-50 at this point, with every win and loss tipping the scales one way or the other.
But for the Tigers' players, the path forward is clear. They have 10 games remaining before the trade deadline against likely sellers in the Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles and Athletics. Given the way they've played for the better part of two months, they couldn't ask for a better opportunity than the one they're getting to pile up some wins pre-deadline.
Detroit put itself in this precarious position with a bad first two months. But the Tigers' recent surge is showing that they have the potential and the pieces to make one more push for October.
The next 10 days will show if it's enough.
