Brewers predicted to win trade sweepstakes for $32M Cy Young winner

1 hour ago 1

The Milwaukee Brewers are sitting atop the NL Central, and likely on their way to a first-round bye. Jacob Misiorowski is incredible and the clear Cy Young front-runner this season.

But, despite how good he's been, this team really needs to upgrade its starting rotation. Misiorowski's likely on an innings limit, while Kyle Harrison is on the injured list for the time being, and Brandon Woodruff is out for the year.

Amid such a need, Andy McCullough of The Athletic is predicting the Brewers will win the trade sweepstakes over teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves for back-to-back Cy Young-winning ace Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers.

Brewers predicted to trade for Tarik Skubal

"Milwaukee lands Tarik Skubal," McCullough predicts. "Will they? Probably not. Milwaukee built up its excellent farm system through discipline and diligence, and they may not deviate from that strategy."

However, McCullough, like the rest of Brewers fans, and many other media, can't help but imagine how fun a starting rotation duo of Misiorowski and Skubal would be come the postseason.

What other team could realistically compare to such a dominant one-two punch atop the rotation? Only the Philadelphia Phillies with Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler, or the Dodgers with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, could really come close.

Skubal is a one-year rental, as the $32 million ace is hitting free agency, and will command a massive new deal, likely well north of $300 million overall.

MORE: Tigers expected to trade Tarik Skubal but still try to contend without him

He has a 2.70 ERA this season and 2.9 bWAR after undergoing elbow surgery mid-season. Skubal isn't just proving he's elite still, but that he's able to come back from injury as well.

Skubal would be perfect for the Brewers. There's just one issue: the price tag of acquiring him from the Tigers would be extremely high.

Jesus Made probably won't have to be included since Skubal is only under control for the rest of 2026. But the Brewers would likely have to give up multiple other top-tier prospects to land the Tigers' Cy Young winner.

With a real chance to win the World Series, it's probably worth it. But it's a risky move, and one that the Brewers might not want to make. McCullough, though, is predicting the Brewers "go for broke" and win the Skubal sweepstakes with a blockbuster trade.