Erik Boland: Do the Yankees actually need to be involved in the Tigers' Tarik Skubal sweepstakes?
Tigers lefthander Tarik Skubal pitches against the Yankees during the second inning at Comerica Park on June 24, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. Credit: AP/Paul Sancya
DETROIT – The Yankees, while not a lock to win what continues to be the weakest American League in years, have spent the better part of the last three months as the heavy favorite to do so.
A player that would make them a near-lock to win the pennant took the mound against them Wednesday night at Comerica Park.
That, of course, is Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.
With the lefthander set to hit free agency after the season – and the fact he is repped by Scott Boras, whose clients almost always go to the market – trade rumors swirled throughout this offseason.
Nothing came of them, but those speculative talks carried full bore into spring training and have only intensified as the Aug. 3 trade deadline inches closer.
And, as is the case pretty much any time a star player is front and center in the trade rumor mill, the Yankees are linked to said player.
Do the Yankees need Skubal?
The short answer: no.
Entering Wednesday night, the Yankees boasted one of the best rotations in the game. Their starting staff ranked second in the majors with a 3.35 ERA, trailing only the Brewers at 3.27, as lefty Ryan Weathers took the mound against Skubal.
And that impressive statistic has been accomplished with Gerrit Cole just six outings into his season and Max Fried sidelined since May 16 with a left elbow bone bruise (Fried is expected back by the end of July at the latest).
When Fried returns, it is likely Weathers – who actually outpitched Skubal as he allowed two runs (one earned) and six hits compared to four runs and four hits, including three homers for Skubal – will be headed to the bullpen.
That would leave the Yankees with a rotation fronted by Cam Schlittler, who is currently dusting the field in the AL Cy Young race, with Cole, Carlos Rodon and Will Warren in tow.
No, as needs go, the Yankees have far greater ones than bolstering their rotation.
And those needs are the same as they’ve been pretty much from Day 1: a lockdown arm (or two) for the back end of the bullpen and a righthanded-hitting catcher.
Maybe the right question is whether the Yankees could “use” Skubal.
Obviously, adding the 12th pitcher in MLB history to win back-to-back Cy Youngs (as Skubal did in 2024 and ’25) to any rotation would make it better.
“It’s a great fastball-changeup combination,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Skubal before Wednesday’s game. “Upper 90s, 100 (mph) with the heater, wipeout changeup. And a really good slider too, but that wipeout changeup… And then he’s got deception. Unique delivery, I think he hides the ball well, so everything plays differently. And he’s a great competitor on top of it.”
Before long, and this is a lock, word will leak that “the Yankees have checked in with Detroit on Skubal.”
That will cause plenty of hyperventilation, but it is important to keep in mind a go-to line of GM Brian Cashman’s that goes something like this: “It’s my job to look at anything that can make us better.”
And if the Tigers make Skubal available – which is still an “if” as Detroit, after a lousy start has played much better of late and is still within shouting distance of the third AL wild-card spot – Cashman, and plenty of others, will assuredly look.
And then it will, as always, come down to cost, which will be steep. Even for a player slated to enter free agency at year’s end.
The Yankees have enough pieces, at both the major league and minor league levels, to make a deal of any kind, but one for Skubal will hurt. The asking price would be sky-high, meaning prospects the fan base has fallen hard for – prospects like George Lombard Jr. and Carlos Lagrange – would be on the table, among others.
Would it be worth it for what could be a half-year rental?
And at the expense of not addressing, to the best of their ability, the Yankees’ more glaring needs?
The answer isn’t an automatic no.
But Skubal also hasn’t quite been the same pitcher since undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow on May 6. Since returning June 13, Skubal has, counting Wednesday night, allowed nine runs (eight earned), 16 hits, including six homers, in 16 1/3 innings. He’s also struck out, 21 batters, including nine on Wednesday, in that stretch. So it’s not as if Skubal is suddenly throwing subpar stuff.
There’s just under six weeks before the trade deadline and the conjecture when it comes to Skubal and the Yankees won’t be dissipating any time soon.
That’s a lock, too.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
