Rays and Dodgers now predicted to battle it out for expected $400M superstar

2 hours ago 1

It's almost crazy to think that the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers could be the two top suitors for the best player available at this year's trade deadline in Tarik Skubal, considering how differently both teams operate.

But when we look at the history of the Rays, it might not be out of the picture to suggest that this is a team that's willing to go all in for a short-term rental that they don't have to pay a whole lot.

Tampa Bay was reportedly interested in Shohei Ohtani, though the Los Angeles Angels decided to hold him instead of moving on from him when he was set to hit the free agency market a few years ago.

There's a possibility the Detroit Tigers do that with Skubal, but it's now believed that if he gets traded, the Rays and Dodgers are the two teams to watch.

“Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers (Contract Details: $32 million, remainder of 2026). The Tigers would be foolish to go all the way to the offseason without trading Skubal. He is the best player available on the trade market and immediately upgrades every rotation across the league. The back-to-back Cy Young winner will command a haul in assets. Look to a contending team with deep pockets to make a play by the deadline if the Tigers’ next couple of weeks go south. The Rays, Dodgers, Braves, and even the Phillies could be in the mix,” Caleb Kerney wrote.

A lot of this will come down to what the Tigers are looking for in return. With some of the best young talent in Major League Baseball, I really don't think Detroit needs a whole lot of prospects in return.

That's part of the reason why I could see some big-league talent from either side going back to Detroit.

Of course, there will be multiple prospects involved, but I think this package could look a bit different than some believe.