Price For Tigers' Tarik Skubal 'Enormous'; Are Brewers Still In?

[Steve Drumwright]

 

The battle for Tarik Skubal has forced teams to push more chips into the pot. Who is still in the game is another question. Are the Milwaukee Brewers?

According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, the cost to acquire the two-time reigning AL Cy Young Award winner from the Detroit Tigers is "enormous." Heyman uses that word after talking with multiple executives who are interested in acquiring Skubal.

That is not a surprise. Skubal is the most coveted player on this year's trade market, with the deadline to make a deal Monday at 5 p.m. CT and a true ace available to bolster a team during a push to make the postseason or to win a World Series.

The three teams most often talked about for Skubal are the Brewers, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays. Other teams such as Atlanta and the Chicago Cubs are thought to be secondary players for Skubal, but could become primary options by increasing their package of players going to the Tigers.

The Brewers (NL Central), Dodgers (NL West) and Rays (AL East) are all first-place teams in their respective divisions and possess the prospect capital and young major-league talent to get a deal done.

 

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[TURBO]

Skubal thread #1,000,000!

 

[Rick Daltons Flamethrower]

I read something yesterday that most Brewer fans want them to trade for Skubal. Who are these fans? Where are these fans? Please , please , please don't give up the farm for a couple month rental.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

Fischer, Sproat, Jett, Quero for Skubal.  Final offer

[MrTPlush]

9 hours ago, TURBO said:

Skubal thread #1,000,000!

 

Just make a Skubal forum at this point.

[WAN2]

It will take too much.  Move on.

[Frisbee Slider]

26 minutes ago, MrTPlush said:

Just make a Skubal forum at this point.

Brewerfanatic writer creates an article, which ultimately gets posted to social media and distributed over email lists also creates a post in a forum. Five Skubal articles = five Skubal forum posts. 

It is a lot but it is automated and just part of elevating the popularity of the site.

[ChapelHeel66]

Who wouldn't want Skubal?  It's only about the price, and the price needs to take into account that the Brewers are likely to be outspent by a big market team to retain him after this year. 

Ultimately, I would not give up four prospects for a rental, because I don't think Skubal alone wins us a World Series this year.  Can we win a World Series with the lowest power output in MLB?  Maybe, but it is not likely. 

And one of our prime prospect trade chips, Quero, has less value for Detroit than almost any other available trade partner, because they have Dingler (stellar at the plate and behind it) under team control into the next decade.

We can boost the team in multiple ways by adding more modest pieces.  For example, I would certainly rather have Detmers and a power bat for the same prospects it would take to land one of the best pitchers in the game.  There aren't a ton of power bats available on lists I've seen.  Taylor Ward fits the Brewers profile, but rarely swings anymore, so his power has dissipated.  

I might take a chance on the dynamic Jarren Duran. He has had a (truly) miserable season, but I think it is the environment.  This is 29 year old who has three straight years with an OPS+ of 115 or better every year.  He is two years removed from a 9 WAR season!.  I can't believe he is an OPS+ 62 and replacement level player all of a sudden. You can see the tension building there in Boston.  I think playing for the Crew would take a huge weight off his shoulders and he would thrive.  He's buy low, both in terms of prospects to get him and $$ to re-sign him.

[TURBO]

1 hour ago, Frisbee Slider said:

Brewerfanatic writer creates an article, which ultimately gets posted to social media and distributed over email lists also creates a post in a forum. Five Skubal articles = five Skubal forum posts. 

It is a lot but it is automated and just part of elevating the popularity of the site.

Then they should all be combined into one thread.

[Frisbee Slider]

Just now, TURBO said:

Then they should all be combined into one thread.

I’m guessing that’s not how that works. Unique content = unique URL. Unique content = more site visitors. 

[TURBO]

20 minutes ago, ChapelHeel66 said:

I might take a chance on the dynamic Jarren Duran. He has had a (truly) miserable season, but I think it is the environment.  This is 29 year old who has three straight years with an OPS+ of 115 or better every year.  He is two years removed from a 9 WAR season!.  I can't believe he is an OPS+ 62 and replacement level player all of a sudden. You can see the tension building there in Boston.  I think playing for the Crew would take a huge weight off his shoulders and he would thrive.  He's buy low, both in terms of prospects to get him and $$ to re-sign him.

The risk with this guy is what happens to the locker room.

I'd be afraid to add a personality like his to this group of guys.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

20 minutes ago, Frisbee Slider said:

I’m guessing that’s not how that works. Unique content = unique URL. Unique content = more site visitors. 

They can definitely be combined. Plus, there is probably not really a need for a whole new article every time a new Skubal tidbit is unearthed.

[BrewLongma34]

2 hours ago, TwinsBrewersWorldSeries said:

Fischer, Sproat, Jett, Quero for Skubal.  Final offer

Hard Pass.  Fischer is untouchable to me.   
that’s just too much control to give up for 2 months and a possible World Series.   
 

Sproat, Jett, Quuero, and Hardin for Skubal

 

They get a ML ready 4 or 5 starter under control for many years.  Our # 4, 8, and 12 ranked prospects. 
 

I hate giving up Harden as I think his stuff is going to be extremely successful with the Brewers pitching lab…but for a World Series….we have so much other pitching to look forward to….

I would not give up that type of power w/Fischer for a 2 months rental and possible WS   

 

 

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

2 hours ago, Frisbee Slider said:

Brewerfanatic writer creates an article, which ultimately gets posted to social media and distributed over email lists also creates a post in a forum. Five Skubal articles = five Skubal forum posts. 

It is a lot but it is automated and just part of elevating the popularity of the site.

There is a dedicated Front Page News forum where these can and should be going, and which is also easy for the majority of posters here to avoid. That way the actual forums people surf around here can remain less cluttered by the same info over an dover again.

[CheeseheadInQC]

15 minutes ago, Ron Robinsons Beard said:

They can definitely be combined. Plus, there is probably not really a need for a whole new article every time a new Skubal tidbit is unearthed.

I can’t speak for the thought process of the site owners, but as someone who does website coding work, there is definitely a value to it SEO wise as these articles show up in a section on Google where recency is a big factor (and users can sort by). Also, the fact that the comments appear both attached to the article and in the forum adds complexity to merging them. It is possible to do but it is unlikely to just be a button flip, and divorcing the forum comments from the articles also could make the site appear less popular to people finding it through the articles.

[owbc]

13 hours ago, Rick Daltons Flamethrower said:

I read something yesterday that most Brewer fans want them to trade for Skubal. Who are these fans? Where are these fans? Please , please , please don't give up the farm for a couple month rental.

I’m in the Skubal boat.

The price is enormous to make a trade today. We don’t need a trade today, we need one on Monday when the clock is ticking and the Tigers have no choice but to take the best offer. Reports are that no offers have even been exchanged yet. 

Meanwhile the Brewers will act like they are uninterested at the current offering price and throw around offers with other pitchers. Then they will have the leverage they need to either pull off the Skubal trade or go to option 2 or 3

[wibadgers23]

A little random but I HATE that the deadline is Aug 3 this year. It should have been over yesterday and we would have all moved on with our lives by now. Aug 3 just seems so late.

[MrTPlush]

48 minutes ago, wibadgers23 said:

A little random but I HATE that the deadline is Aug 3 this year. It should have been over yesterday and we would have all moved on with our lives by now. Aug 3 just seems so late.

And an extra start of Skubal

[LouisEly]

Of course it's enormous right now. 

It's going to be enormous until 4:45PM CT Monday.

In other news, grass is green.

[Playing Catch]

1 minute ago, LouisEly said:

Of course it's enormous right now. 

It's going to be enormous until 4:45PM CT Monday.

In other news, grass is green.

Who knows what sources know what, but I suppose there's a world where the Tigers are in "soft-sell" mode at 3.5 Games back of the WC, and they are cool with rolling with him the rest of the season unless they get the offer they want? Probably unlikely, but maybe.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Remember when the Brewers landed C.C. they got extra aggressive and increased their prospect package two weeks before the deadline so they could get extra starts from him.

If Detroit is insistent to wait until the last minute to get as big a return as possible, for what will be 4 or even 5 fewer starts for the team winning the bidding (remember CC was on short rest much of september after Sheets went down and no way is Boras letting Skubal do that), i almost hope the tiger GM's phone gets lost on Aug 3 and he doesnt get dealt at all.

[Playing Catch]

If teams like the Mariners are offering good, controllable starters, the Tigers may be underestimating the depth of options buyers have.

[Playing Catch]

My cynical, conspiratorial side wonders a little if the league is telling the Tigers to keep the prospect prices high. There is considerable interest in the trade deadline every year, but it will lessen over time if guys like Skubal aren't as valuable as everyone says they are.

[Local Man Brewer Fan]

51 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

Remember when the Brewers landed C.C. they got extra aggressive and increased their prospect package two weeks before the deadline so they could get extra starts from him.

If Detroit is insistent to wait until the last minute to get as big a return as possible, for what will be 4 or even 5 fewer starts for the team winning the bidding (remember CC was on short rest much of september after Sheets went down and no way is Boras letting Skubal do that), i almost hope the tiger GM's phone gets lost on Aug 3 and he doesnt get dealt at all.

My read on this situation is that Detroit is not the cause of the delay right now. The trade partners are staring at each other like the 3 gunfighters at the end of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - twitchy eyes and all. It is all negotiation right now - and Detroit knows that having multiple bidders is what can maximize their "booty" in the trade.

Regarding what the Brewers should do here - the weighing of short term goals versus long term goals, and whether prospects are able to reach their maximum value as MLB players (and when) - is more art than science. BUT - at some point you have to push your chips into the middle. This season, the team has earned the right to have the FO go all in.  I think the Brewers are going to make some big moves in the next couple of days - but not the one including Skubal,