The Detroit Tigers face their most important offseason decision in recent memory, and whatever they decide could have a direct effect on the Boston Red Sox. The Tigers are approximately $250 million short of what they would need to spend to keep their Cy Young Award-winning left ace Tarik Skubal in the Motor City, according to a widely cited report by Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
If the Tigers cannot sign Skubal, playing his final year under team control in 2026, they must either trade him or risk losing him to free agency and getting nothing in return.
Because he is still bound by arbitration rules, Skubal’s salary for 2026, according to the sports business site Spotrac, will be $22.5 million â which seems like a high price but is probably only about half of what the 29-year-old would command on the open market.
Red Sox Insider Names Trade Package
According to Peter Abraham, longtime Red Sox insider for the Boston Globe one of the teams interested in making that trade for Skubal would be the team that he covers â the Boston Red Sox.
“Thatâs a tremendous bargain for a pitcher who made 31 starts last season with a 2.21 earned run average and an 0.89 WHIP. Skubal should win his second consecutive Cy Young Award when the results are announced Wednesday,” Abraham wrote on Saturday.
“He also has a 2.04 ERA in six postseason starts over the last two seasons. For any team that believes itâs capable of a deep run in the 2026 postseason, Skubal would be a great addition â even for the steep price in young talent the Tigers will rightfully expect in return,” Abraham continued.
Abraham then identified the players who the Red Sox must be willing to deal in order to get Skubal.
“What would the Sox have to give up to get Skubal?” Abraham asked. “It starts with Payton Tolle and could include Jarren Duran.”
Rapid Rise of 2nd-Round Pick
Duran, a left-handed hitting outfielder, has been the Red Sox player most often mentioned in trade rumors, not only for Skubal but for any pitcher who could pair in the rotation with Boston’s own left-handed ace, Garrett Crochet.
But Tolle would likely be the real prize for Detroit.
Tolle is a physically imposing â 6-foot-6, 250-pound â power pitcher who started the 2025 season with the Greenville Drive, the Red Sox’ High-Single-A affiliate and rose all the way up the minor league ranks to take his place on the major league roster by August 29.
The 23-year-old Tolle was the Red Sox’ second-round draft pick in 2024 out of Texas Christian University.
Tolle Could be Future Skubal Replacement
Tolle’s rapid rise ended up revealing that the southpaw is still rough around the edges, In three starts and four relief appearances, he ended with a 6.06 ERA allowing five home runs and eight walks in 16 1/3 innings. With a fastball that averages 97 mph and can break the 100 mph barrier, Tolle still needs work on the other pitches in his arsenal.
But Tolle’s obvious potential could be enough for the Tigers who may see him as an eventual replacement for Skubal. The Tigers’ ace himself was a ninth-round draft pick who pitched three seasons in the big leagues before seeing his ERA drop below 3.52.
On the MLB Pipeline ranking of Red Sox prospects, Tolle after the 2025 season ranks second in the entire Boston system, first among all pitchers.
In all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, Tolle ranks fourth among lefty pitching prospects, 28th among all players.
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