Category: Baseball

The Detroit Tigers (23-38) are tied with the Los Angeles Angels and Colorado Rockies for the worst record in MLB, and superstar left-hander Tarik Skubal is a free agent after this season; we know the drill here.

With that in mind, which team makes the most sense to trade for the defending, back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner? Dontrelle Willis thinks that team is the Milwaukee Brewers.

“I would love to see them [the Brewers] get Skubal because he has the big-game experience, and he can go on the road and shut the opposing team’s offense down, whether it’s the Los Angeles Dodgers or the Atlanta Braves or anybody else, especially coming from the left side,” the FOX Sports MLB Analyst said on Monday. “This is a situation where, if you’re a Brewers fan, you want them to take the next step because they’ve been to the postseason, but they’ve had a lot of heartbreak, especially in recent memory, in some tough spots.

“You go out and get that [Skubal], it can feel like a CC Sabathia move, and you saw what that did.”

Skubal is nursing an elbow injury that has kept him off an MLB mound for the last month, with the consensus being that the southpaw could return to the Tigers in early July. FOX Sports MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal recently reported that it’s “trending” toward the Tigers moving Skubal before the 2026 MLB trade deadline (Aug. 3).

In the seven starts he has made this season, Skubal has a 2.70 ERA, an 0.95 WHIP, totaled 45 strikeouts, a 156 ERA+ and 1.7 wins above replacement over 43 ⅓ innings pitched. Skubal led AL starting pitchers in ERA and WAR in both 2024 and 2025, finished with a WHIP below one in three consecutive seasons (2023-25) and posted 234.5 strikeouts per year from 2024-25.

Regarding the potential trade fit, the Brewers have been on fire over the last month, as they’ve won 18 of their last 23 games and are now 36-21, good for a five-and-a-half-game lead on first place in the National League Central. Skubal would join a Milwaukee starting rotation that’s already among the game’s best, as the Brewers’ starting staff is tied for first in MLB in opponent batting average (.208), is third in ERA (3.13), tied for third in WHIP (1.11) and tied for seventh in strikeouts (319). Granted, they’re just 26th in innings pitched (279.1).

In what’s his first full season at the MLB level, Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski is the early favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award, as the flame-throwing right-hander boasts a 1.65 ERA, an NL-best 0.79 WHIP and 108 strikeouts, a 249 ERA+ and three wins above replacement. Meanwhile, left-hander Kyle Harrison sports a 1.57 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, 61 strikeouts, a 263 ERA+ and 2.4 wins above replacement. Their success comes against the backdrop of Milwaukee trading ace Freddy Peralta and fellow right-hander Tobias Myers to the New York Mets in the offseason.

Regarding Willis’ comparison, the Brewers made a blockbuster trade for Cleveland ace CC Sabathia in 2008, which helped propel them to a National League wild-card berth. Across his 17 regular-season starts for the Brewers, the Hall of Fame left-hander pitched seven complete games and recorded a combined 1.65 ERA.

The Brewers are coming off a 2025 campaign that saw them win an MLB-best 97 games in the regular season but later get swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS. While Milwaukee has made the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons, it has reached the NLCS just twice over that span (2018 and 2025). The Brewers, who have never won a World Series, haven’t reached the Fall Classic since 1982.

The 2026 Major League Baseball season is nearing the halfway point, with several teams emerging as surprising overachievers. But as the season heats up, there are plenty of bold predictions for the month ahead.

With the season beginning to take shape across the league, analysts are starting to separate the contenders from the pretenders. During MLB on FOX, Eric Karros and Dontrelle Willis revealed their biggest surprises from May and their bold predictions for June.

Biggest Surprises In May

Chicago White Sox have been Karros’ biggest surprise over the past month. The White Sox entered June red-hot, sitting just one game behind the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central with a 32-27 record after going 18-10 in May.

“I’m going to the South Side of Chicago in the White Sox,” Karros said. “If the season ended right now, they would be a playoff team. I don’t think anybody thought that was going to happen. How are they doing it? The power has been crazy.”

Chicago’s offense has been one of the biggest reasons behind its turnaround, consistently producing timely hits and home run power throughout May. Several young players have also stepped into bigger roles, helping the White Sox produce one of the more balanced lineups in baseball.

Before his recent injury, Japanese sensation Munetaka Murakami has put together an impressive rookie season, batting .240 with 20 home runs, tied for the American League lead and second-most in all of Major League Baseball.

“Obviously, you knew [Munetaka] Murakami was going to be absolutely outstanding once he got going with the home runs,” Karros said. “But [Miguel] Vargas has been unbelievable after being traded from the Dodgers a few years ago.”

That young core has quickly become one of the driving forces behind Chicago’s surprising rise in the American League standings.

“The energy you’re talking about with Chase Meidroth at second, [Colson] Montgomery at short with the youth of these guys,” Karros said. “The thing about it is, they’re confident. They’re starting to believe and they got a little bit of arrogance too and that could be dangerous.”

When it comes to Willis’ biggest surprise, he pointed to the San Diego Padres’ more unconventional case. Despite underwhelming offensive numbers on the stat sheet, the Padres entered June with a 32-26 record.

They sit just 5.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West while currently holding the top Wild Card spot.

“For me, it’s the San Diego Padres,” Willis said. “Fernando Tatis hit his first home run a few days ago and Manny Machado is hitting .170. You would think if that happened, they’d be 10 games out of it right now. If the season ended, they’re in the postseason.”

The strength of their supporting cast has allowed San Diego to stay afloat even while key stars have yet to fully find their rhythm at the plate.

“The supporting cast has been absolutely phenomenal and that’s what’s scary about the San Diego Padres,” Willis said. “If they get two of those horses [Tatis and Machado] going in the right direction, it’s going to be scary hours in the West.”

Bold Predictions For June

After opening the season as one of baseball’s hottest teams, the Chicago Cubs hit a rough patch in May, finishing 13-16. They also dropped the Crosstown Classic to the Chicago White Sox during the month.

Still, Willis remains confident in the Cubs, believing another winning streak could be on the horizon given their favorable upcoming schedule.

“The Chicago Cubs are going to go on another win streak,” Willis said. “They have something favorable in their schedule. They have to play the A’s, Giants and the Rockies. They’re going to win a lot of ball games.”

One of the biggest disappointments in baseball this season has been the Texas Rangers, who sit in third place in the American League West with a 28-32 record. Injuries have played a major role in their struggles, as they’ve had difficulty keeping their key players on the field.

Even with those issues, Karros still views them as a team to watch once they get healthy and regain full strength.

“I’m going to go to the Texas Rangers,” Karros said. “They’re going to get [Corey] Seager and [Wyatt] Langford back. Then you’ve got that pitching staff with [Jacob] deGrom and [Nathan] Eovaldi. I think Texas is going to be a problem for a lot of teams.”

If the Rangers can piece things together down the stretch, Karros believes their talent still makes them a dangerous postseason match-up in any series.

“If they get into the postseason, you don’t want to face those guys,” Karros said. “They’re going to get healthy. I like the Rangers.”

The MLB All-Star Game is a star-studded event every season, but FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal thinks the 2026 Midsummer Classic could stand above the rest for one specific reason. 

“This could be maybe the greatest NL All-Star [pitching] staff assembled, maybe the greatest staff, period,” Rosenthal said, when talking with FOX Sports’ Kevin Burkhardt. “I’m not saying there’s going to be a no-hitter in the All-Star Game, but I’m not saying there won’t be either.” 

Fans hoping to be entertained by offense might be disappointed because the National League could roll out Cy Young winners, World Series champions, up-and-coming rising stars, a pair of pitchers who dominated in May and a strong bullpen. 

Here’s a look at Rosenthal’s predicted historic NL pitching staff.

Former Cy Young Winners

Paul Skenes

In his second MLB season, Skenes won the NL Cy Young Award. He led the league with a 1.97 ERA. His third season hasn’t been as dominant, but he still holds an MLB-best 6.25 strikeouts-to-walks rate. For Skenes to be seen as the third or fourth-best pitcher in the NL based off his 2026 stats speaks to the depth of the league. 

Chris Sale

Sale won the NL Cy Young award in 2024, when he led the majors with a 2.38 ERA, and led the NL with 235 strikeouts. Still, in his age 37 season, Sale continues to be a step ahead of batters. Across 11 starts, he holds an 8-3 record with a 2.01 ERA. He could be in the running for his second CY Young award.

Masters Of May

Jacob Misiorowski

The flamethrower holds a 6-2 record and a league’s-best 108 strikeouts over 12 starts during what will be his first full MLB season, barring injury. Through six starts in the month of May, Misiorowski took it up a notch. He posted a 0.23 ERA, struck out 57 batters and walked only six. 

Cristopher Sanchez

Sanchez broke out last season to the tune of an MLB-best 8.1 wins above average metric. He’s built on that momentum in 2026, leading the majors with a 1.47 ERA. His production in the month of May has been unparalleled, as he tossed 41 consecutive scoreless innings, and set the Phillies’ organizational record of 44 ⅔ innings. That streak hasn’t been broken. 

World Series Winners

Shohei Ohtani

Rosenthal isn’t sure Ohtani would pitch in the All-Star Game if selected as a pitcher, but he’s certainly earned that opportunity amid his first full season on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Over nine starts, he holds a 0.82 ERA and a 5-2 record. 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Yamamoto won the World Series MVP and might not even be the best pitcher on his team. Through 11 starts this season, he’s struck out 69 batters and holds a 2.86 ERA. 

MLB’s Next Generation Of Stars

Chase Burns

After earning a minor-league call-up toward the end of the 2025 season, Burns has broken onto the scene this year. He holds a 7-1 record, a 1.96 ERA, and has sat down 72 batters over 11 starts. 

Nolan McLean

The World Baseball Classic star projects to be one of the New York Mets’ best future players. He’s still searching for consistent form but holds an elite 27.9 strikeout percentage. 

Bryce Elder

Elder’s success was a big part of the Braves early-season rebound from a down 2025 season, especially as they’ve managed a slew of pitching injuries. He holds a career-best 2.50 ERA over 11 starts.  

Bullpen Of Stars

Mason Miller

It doesn’t get much better than Miller out of the pen. After moving to the NL when the San Diego Padres acquired him from the Athletics, he has constantly delivered. In 2026, Miller leads the league with 17 saves. He’s allowed just 10 hits and two earned runs in 24 appearances.

Jhoan Duran

Duran is another elite closer that went from the AL to the NL. He has 12 saves in 17 appearances during the 2026 season. 

The head of the baseball players’ association insisted his union will fight management’s salary cap proposal as long as it takes as negotiations proceed with the threat of a lockout that could cancel games next season.

Major League Baseball proposed a salary cap last week and appears set to start a lockout after the current labor contract expires Dec. 1.

“Our union has never been broken and never will be,” interim executive director Bruce Meyer said Monday during an online news question-and-answer session with reporters. “Our players have what they have, including being the only sport that doesn’t have this ultimate restriction, the salary cap, because our players have always been the most unified and that’s going to continue.”

Baseball has had nine work stoppages since 1972, the last a 99-day lockout that slightly delayed the 2022 season. Regular-season games have not been lost since a 7 1/2-month strike in 1994-95, the last time MLB proposed a cap.

The NFL has had a cap since 1994, the NBA since 1984-85 and the NHL since 2005-06.

“The unions in the other sports didn’t agree to salary-cap systems because they thought it was a good thing for players. That’s not what happened,” Meyer said. “In one way or the other, they were not able to fight the way that our union has and not criticizing anybody, it’s just a fact. Our union has always been the most solid, and that’s why our union has the best system.”

Negotiators have not scheduled the next bargaining session. The union last week proposed expanded free agency and salary arbitration rights along with almost doubling the major league minimum and increasing revenue sharing.

MLB’s proposal last Thursday would cap team spending in 2027 at $245.3 million, using figures for luxury tax payrolls that include $20.1 million for benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool. It also would establish a payroll floor of $171.2 million, forcing some teams to spend more. The Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball’s biggest spenders, had a $415.2 million payroll on opening day this year — around $170 million over the proposed cap.

“Our salary cap and floor proposal addresses our fans’ concerns by leveling the playing field while sharing baseball revenue with the players 50/50 like the other leagues,” MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement. “Our salary cap and floor proposal addresses our fans’ concerns by leveling the playing field while sharing baseball revenue with the players 50/50 like the other leagues. Under our proposal, major league players will receive more compensation in year one of the system than in 2026.”

Los Angeles shattered MLB’s spending record with a combined $515 million in payroll and luxury tax last year en route to its second straight World Series title. Los Angeles’ total was seven times the $68.7 million payroll of Miami, the lowest-spending team, and more than the payrolls of the bottom six clubs combined.

Meyer likened a cap to “Big Brother” telling a team it can’t sign a player it wants to.

“At a time of exploding popularity, growth and interest, the owners’ goal is more money in the pockets of owners,” he said. “Don’t blame them for that, but that’s what it is. Whether it’s more in profits because they’re holding down labor costs or growing their franchise values.”

Meyer dismissed MLB’s contention that payroll disparity causes fans of lower-spending teams to lose hope. No small-market team has won the World Series since the 2015 Kansas City Royals.

“We do not accept the premise that there’s some existential crisis going on,” he said. “People are still lining up to buy these teams, to get in whether as a minority investor or otherwise and that’s because the sport is extremely healthy.”

He pointed out lower-payroll teams do reach the 12-team playoffs and Cincinnati got in last year while the New York Mets did not. Six postseason teams had payrolls above $200 million last year and MLB emphasizes high-spending teams usually dominate the later rounds.

“We don’t want money to be taken away from teams that want to spend it and give it to teams that don’t want to spend it,” Meyer said. “We want to encourage more San Diegos. San Diego is a small-market team that went out, decided to compete, signed a lot of players, turned around their franchise.”

MLB’s proposal calls for a 50-50 split with players of defined revenue, including for players spending on signing bonuses for players from high school and college, and international amateurs agreeing to initial contracts.

“It’s not even a real 50%. It’s taking billions of dollars off the top before they’re proposing to even share any of that,” Meyer said. “Players’ share under their proposal would go down. Players’ share for this season, 2026, is projected to be well over 50%. … Had MLB’s proposal been in place in 2026, players would, we estimate — would lose over half a billion dollars.”

He faulted MLB for how it defined revenue and spending.

“Their proposal of course excludes things like expansion fees, franchise values, the place where they make their most money,” he said. “Their proposal deducts billions of dollars in expenses … so it’s not even a real 50%.”

“They’ve effectively managed to cobble together the worst system for players in any of the major sports, and not even close,” Meyer added.

Players contracts this year, using average annual values and including benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool, total $6.14 billion, according to MLB’s opening-day figures. Slot values signing bonuses in this year’s amateur draft come to about $359 million and international signing bonus pools to $208 million.

Under MLB’s proposal, there would be an escrow system in which players would have money withheld in the event their share of revenue rises above the specified amount. They would get more money if their share falls short.

“If revenues are soft or they go down, then that means players at the end of the day won’t get the guaranteed money,” he said.

Meyer also said some teams heighten disparity by not spending on players.

“Every team now has the ability to put a competitive team on the field, every single team,” he said. “One of the things that I find kind of ironic in a perverse way, if team X decides we’re not going to spend money on players, well that increases the disparity in payroll.”

Reporting by the Associated Press.

For one inning, it appeared as if all the breaks were going the way of Cleveland starting pitcher Tanner Bibee on Sunday.

Despite giving up a leadoff homer for the second straight game, the right-hander left with a lead for the first time in 13 starts this season and finally got run support as the Guardians led the Boston Red Sox 4-3 going into the seventh inning.

Instead, Bibee had a front row seat as the bullpen had one of its worst innings of the year as Boston rallied for a 9-4 win.

That put Bibee at the top of a couple of lists no starting pitcher wants to join.

Boston’s six runs in the seventh inning en route to a 9-4 victory made Bibee the 12th opening day starter since 1976 to make at least 10 starts and not earn a win before June, according to Sportradar.

He has the most starts without a win before June and is the fourth with at least 12. The others were Colorado’s Kyle Freeland (2025), Miami’s José Ureña (2018) and Atlanta’s Carl Morton (1976).

Bibee is also the first pitcher in Cleveland’s 125-year franchise history to go winless in his first 13 starts.

“I’ve said this in the past. I don’t have any control over it. All I can do is go out there, try to throw up some zeros and whatever happens, happens,” said Bibee, who is 0-7.

Bibee’s seven losses are tied for the second most among among the 12 opening day starters. His 4.57 is the fourth lowest.

“Wins and losses don’t matter for starting pitchers. It’s not a stat that means anything. So I know he’s not worried about it and we’re definitely not worried about it,” catcher Austin Hedges said.

Bibee bounced back after Jarren Duran connected on the fifth pitch of the game and drove it into the right-field stands, the fourth time he gave up a leadoff homer this season. He allowed only one hit in the second through fourth innings before the Red Sox loaded the bases with one out in the fifth. Mickey Gasper tied it at 2-all with a sacrifice fly to drive in Marcelo Mayer and Wilyer Abreu’s RBI single gave Boston a 3-2 lead.

However, the Guardians rallied.

Cleveland scored twice in the bottom of the fifth on Jose Ramirez’s RBI double after Boston left fielder Masataka Yoshida lost track of the fly ball in the sun. Chase DeLauter’s single drove in Ramírez. They loaded the bases with two outs when Stuart Fairchild struck out and unsuccessfully challenged the called third strike.

That left the Guardians without a challenge for the rest of the game, which would come back to haunt them.

Bibee retired the Red Sox in order in the sixth. He threw 90 pitches, including 62 strikes, and allowed three runs and six hits with five strikeouts and one walk.

The Guardians bullpen couldn’t hold the lead. Tim Herrin seemed poised to escape a bases-loaded jam with a fastball on the outer corner to Abreu on a full count, but home plate umpire Austin Jones called it a ball, allowing Connor Wong to score and tie it at 4-all.

The inning unraveled as Boston had three straight hits and added five more runs to take control of the game.

Cleveland has the third-worst challenge rate on ABS at 44.4%. The league average is 52.7%.

“I mean, it’s frustrating, but that’s on us. We shouldn’t have lost our challenges. It’s what they’re there for, and we’ve got to take accountability and be better at it,” Hedges said.

Bibee was a fifth-round pick by Cleveland in the 2021 amateur draft. He went 22-12 with a 3.25 ERA in his first two seasons in the majors and was second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2023. He was also the third Cleveland pitcher since 2000 with at least 10 wins in each of his first two seasons in the big leagues. Hall of Famer CC Sabathia (2001-02) and Shane Bieber (2018-19) are the others.

However, Bibee is 12-18 with a 4.33 ERA in 43 starts since signing a five-year, $48 million contract during spring training last year.

“We haven’t scored a lot of runs when Tanner’s been on the mound, even in some of the starts in which he’s pitched exceptionally well,” general manager Chris Antonetti said. “I think as we look forward, we’ll start to see more of those outings in which he’s pitching more effectively than maybe some of those other hiccup.”

Bibee remains confident he can turn his season around. Manager Stephen Vogt said Bibee’s changeup showed improvement after he allowed seven runs in three innings on Monday against Washington.

He has six quality starts this season with Sunday’s being the fourth in his past five games.

“You want to win games, but I feel like it’s important to know pitching; you’re playing a completely different sport than the other nine people in the field. So it’s just figuring out what the kind of self-evaluation of it,” Bibee said.

Reporting by the Associated Press.

The New York Yankees scored 13 runs in an inning for the first time in nearly 21 years Sunday as their first 12 batters in the third reached safely against an overwhelmed pitching staff for the Athletics.

The game began well for A’s starter Jacob Lopez, who retired all six New York batters in the first two innings. But then trouble came quickly in the third when he failed to retire any of the seven hitters he faced, starting with a single by Anthony Volpe.

The totals in the inning were staggering as the Yankees had 11 hits and four walks. They sent 18 batters to the plate and faced 75 pitches during their most productive inning since scoring 13 runs in the eighth against Tampa Bay on June 21, 2005. It was one off the franchise record for an inning set July 6, 1920, against Washington.

Lopez walked two batters after Volpe’s hit and then failed to cover the bag on Paul Goldschmidt’s bases-loaded grounder to first, allowing a run to score on an infield single. Ben Rice followed with a two-run double, Aaron Judge blooped a single to center and Cody Bellinger hit an RBI single to knock out Lopez.

The next five batters also reached safely against reliever Michael Kelly, marking the first time in 17 seasons that a team started an inning with 12 straight batters reaching safely, according to Sportradar. The Boston Red Sox were the previous team to do it on May 7, 2009, against Cleveland.

This marked the first time the Yankees had 12 consecutive batters reach safely in an inning since the first game of a doubleheader on Sept. 11, 1949, against Washington. It was just two batters off the record since 1920 that came when Detroit had 14 straight reach in the sixth inning against the Yankees on June 17, 1925, with Hall of Famer Ty Cobb hitting a home run in that inning.

The Yankees scored 10 runs before the first out was recorded when Goldschmidt struck out. Rice followed with a two-run triple, giving him two multi-run extra-base hits in the same inning.

Bellinger capped the scoring with an RBI single, marking the first time since 1950 that the A’s allowed at least 13 runs in an inning. They gave up 14 in the first inning of the second game of a June 18 doubleheader that season.

In all, eight of the nine Yankees batters had at least one hit and one RBI in the inning, with Austin Wells the lone exception with two walks. All nine batters scored a run.

The inning went so long — lasting 43 minutes — that Yankees starter Will Warren had to go to the bullpen to get loose during the inning.

Reporting by the Associated Press.

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jesus Sanchez was injured by a ball thrown from the bleachers Sunday, sustaining a bruise to his right wrist that forced him to leave the game against the Baltimore Orioles.

The culprit wasn’t a malicious fan. Rather, the ball was tossed by a youngster who merely wanted to play a game of catch.

The mishap occurred in the sixth inning of Baltimore’s 9-5 victory. During a stoppage in play, Sánchez glanced up at the fans in the right field bleachers. Not long after that, the ball soared from the stands and plunked his wrist.

“I wasn’t trying to play catch right there,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “I just looked at them, and they thought maybe that I want them to throw the ball. It was a complete misunderstanding.”

Sanchez was wearing a bandage on his wrist after the game, but X-rays were negative and he seemed confident the injury wouldn’t keep him out of the lineup.

“It hurts a little bit, but thank God it’s nothing bad or a fracture,” he said. “I’ll be all right.”

A statement from an Orioles spokesperson said the club has “identified the fan and removed them from the ballpark while we conduct a thorough investigation.”

Toronto manager John Schneider shook his head but smiled when asked to explain what happened.

“Yeah, you never know what you’re going to see at the ballpark,” he said. “He was kind of talking to a, I think it was a 12-year-old kid … in a playful manner, like almost let’s play catch. I think the kid took it literally.”

Schneider added, “I’m sure the kid feels bad. I’m assuming there’s no ill intent there, I think it was just a misunderstanding and bad timing.”

It’s certainly not something the Orioles condone.

“That’s something that I know we’re looking into,” Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said. “We don’t want anyone getting hurt or fans throwing the ball on the field or anything like that.”

Sánchez never saw it coming, but he will learn from the experience.

“Big surprise, of course,” he said. “I never imagined that was going to happen, but it happened. Just turn the page and keep going.”

Reporting by the Associated Press.

The Tarik Skubal sweepstakes might be on soon. 

As the Detroit Tigers continue to stumble and deal with injuries, FOX Sports MLB insider Ken Rosenthal believes that the chances Skubal gets moved before the Aug. 3 trade deadline are improving.   

“It’s trending that way. Talking with people around the game, that is their feeling,” Rosenthal said of the possibility of a Skubal trade on Saturday’s MLB on FOX pregame show. “The outlook right now is rather bleak, and honestly, it’s difficult to imagine them making up a 14-game under .500 deficit, getting back to .500, and then contending even in a weak American League. So the question becomes, ‘Will Skubal be healthy enough?’ It’s what we don’t know.” 

Skubal, who has won the AL Cy Young in each of the last two seasons, is one of 15 Tigers players on the injured list, missing almost the whole month of May after he underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow. Since his departure on May 4, the Tigers have gone 4-20 and sit 22-37 overall, tied for the worst record in the American League with the Los Angeles Angels. Additionally, the Tigers’ offense has scored just 64 total runs, the fewest in the majors over that stretch.

Skubal has been viewed as the top potential player who could be moved ahead of this year’s trade deadline. He’s set to hit free agency this offseason, making him an ideal trade candidate as the Tigers will likely ask for a major haul in return for the star lefty. 

Of course, Skubal’s talent isn’t in question among teams that might pursue him ahead of the deadline. He has a 2.70 ERA this season, pitching at a high level. But Skubal has to prove he’s healthy and capable of taking on his regular workload once he returns, which could be in the coming weeks. 

If Skubal’s able to do that, teams will start lining up to acquire him, according to Rosenthal. 

“He’s going to throw again Monday and face hitters,” Rosenthal said. He’s coming off the innovative NanoNeedle elbow surgery, and maybe he’s back in mid-June, maybe it’s late-June. As long as he is healthy again, teams are going to line up. And then the question becomes, are the Tigers willing? If the standings are that daunting, if the situation is that bleak, they’re going to have to listen.”