Tarik Skubal had barely finished trying to shut down the trade rumors Thursday afternoon when a former MLB player managed to crank the volume even higher. Former Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees outfielder Cameron Maybin jumped onto X.com and urged the Yankees to trade for the two-time Cy Young winner, instantly adding more fuel to one of the offseason’s loudest storylines.
“(Kyle) Tucker and (Cody) Bellinger will shake up somebody’s offseason, but the move that would take over the entire league is the Yankees going to get Skubal,” Maybin wrote. “Tigers clearly don't want to pay him or they would have already. I'm sure they're trying to justify or convince themselves how it's probably not smart to pay Skubal what he deserves.”
And Maybin didn’t stop there. He went full dream-rotation mode, saying GM Brian Cashman should add another Cy Young winner on top of Skubal.
“But imagine pairing him with a healthy Sandy Alcantara in the Bronx along with (Max) Fried, (Gerrit) Cole, (Carlos) Rodon. That is a playoff nightmare for every lineup in baseball,” he wrote. “And I don’t want to hear anything about payroll. This is the Yankees.”
This is exactly the type of talk Skubal says he never asked for.
Just hours earlier, he said he “does not even know why” he keeps being mentioned in trade rumors, even though he remains under team control through 2026 and has repeatedly said he likes pitching in Detroit. His frustration highlights the widening gap between how he views his status and how the rest of the league views it.
The industry reality, though, leans closer to Maybin’s take.
The Tigers and Skubal haven’t made progress on an extension, and the two sides appear far apart on valuation. Until something changes, rival clubs will keep treating Skubal like the top available arm — even if the Tigers insist he isn’t available. As long as long-term talks remain stuck, contenders with rotation needs will keep calling.
The Yankees are one of those teams that need pitching.
Gerrit Cole is expected to miss the early part of the season after Tommy John surgery, Clarke Schmidt is out for the year, and Carlos Rodon will start behind after elbow surgery. Cashman has admitted he needs rotation help around Fried, Will Warren, Cam Schlittler and Luis Gil.
Whether that help includes another Cy Young winner is unclear. But chances to land — and extend — an ace like Skubal don’t come every winter.
Maybin’s comments reflect the reality of the situation. The Tigers need clarity. The Yankees need pitching.
And, Skubal, whether he likes it or not, sits at the center of this offseason’s biggest question of whether teams not in the top five of payroll can truly afford an ace.
