ESPN's Jeff Passan reveals how Yankees could trade for Tigers' Tarik Skubal

Matt Sullivan

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ESPN's Jeff Passan reveals how Yankees could trade for Tigers' Tarik Skubal image

The New York Yankees are heading into what could wind up being a very busy offseason.

Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham are free agents, and the Yankees need to address their bullpen, infield depth and the outfield.

New York's starting rotation, with Garrit Cole coming back, doesn't need a lot of work. However, the Yankees are still one of many teams that'd be all over the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes if the two-time Cy Young were made available.

But do the Yankees have the ammo needed to swing such a blockbuster?

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Yankees have the pieces needed to make a Skubal trade realistic for the Tigers.

How Yankees could swing a blockbuster Tarik Skubal trade

"Only a handful of teams have the prospect depth and urgency to pull off such a deal." Passan writes. "... The Yankees have the upper-level pitching depth Detroit lacks."

The Tigers, if they traded Skubal, would still be looking to contend in the short term. With that in mind, Detroit would likely ask for at least one high-level starting pitching prospect in return.

While teams around baseball might not have the leeway to make such a deal, the Yankees have the depth to do so.

Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil could all be part of a Skubal trade package. Losing such talented young pitchers would be the price of landing arguably the best pitcher in baseball.

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Add on that the Yankees have some top prospects in Carlos Lagrange, Elmer Rodriguez and Bryce Cunningham, and the Yankees have plenty of pitching depth needed to convince the Tigers of a trade.

Detroit would also likely ask for more than just a couple of pitchers, as moving on from Skubal is a huge loss for the team. So someone like Spencer Jones could be a key piece of such a trade if needed for the Yankees.

While trading so many young, talented prospects could be a huge risk, adding Skubal to the Yankees' rotation of Cole, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon in 2026 could be enough to win a World Series.

While a trade isn't likely, the Yankees have the ammo needed to swing such a blockbuster trade. If they're willing to do so, the Yankees have the high-end starting pitching prospects and talent to match the Tigers' trade demands.

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Editorial Team