I agree with this sentiment 95% of the time.....but in this particular case, a 0.5 season of one of the best 2 pitchers in baseball when he's healthy is worth giving up a volume-based prospect haul if:
1 - Skubal is healthy post surgery and has no limitations on innings the rest of the stretch as he gets himself ready to chase a title and free agent payday
2 - the CBA strife doesn't appear to be headed towards a resolution before impacting the 2027 season
3 - the package the Brewers assemble for Skubal could include 1 young MLB arm that Skubal would naturally need to replace on the 40 man (Gasser, Sproat, Henderson, Crow) plus an array of younger prospects who may be positionally blocked by current core Brewer players or more touted prospects. Many of those prospects will need to be dealt in the coming years to avoid losing them in the rule 5 draft (assuming that element remains in the new CBA, whenever that is signed).
The Brewers system is as deeply layered in talent as it's ever been, IMO - now is the time to make a splash that could turn their playoff rotation into a monster against anyone, especially since at the moment the Brewers are leaning on younger arms who may need innings restrictions/extra rest so they're as strong as possible in the postseason.