The first full day of MLB’s annual Winter Meetings passed on Monday without any major trades, deals or free agent signings getting done, or at least announced. But that didn’t stop the rumor mill from working overtime, and one Los Angeles television sports anchor set off perhaps the most talked-about speculation of the day.
Free agent former New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso was reported to be driving across the state from his home in Tampa to hold meetings with several suitors, including the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles.
Another leak had the Red Sox conducting a sit-down via video conference with Toronto Blue Jays free agent shortstop Bo Bichette.
But the highest level of intrigue at the Winter Meetings centers on Detroit Tigers ace left-hander and back-to-back Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.
Tigers Money Crunch Driving Skubal Trade Rumors
Why would the Tigers even consider trading Skubal? The answer is simple. Money.
The Tigers have been a mid-level payroll team. They currently rank 14th of the 30 major league clubs heading into 2026 with current allocations of $157.4 million, and carry only one contract with a total value in excess of $100 million. That belongs to shortstop Javier Baez, who has two years remaining on a six-year, $140 million deal.
The 29-year-old Skubal is predicted to receive a contract in excess of the 12-year, $325 million pact given by the Los Angeles Dodgers to World Series hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
In fact, according to an ESPN report, the Tigers 2018 ninth-round draft pick “could even become baseball’s first $400 million pitcher.”
Skubal has just one year remaining of team control, becoming a free agent after the 2026 season. That gives the Tigers three options. They can loosen their purse strings and pay Skubal enough to keep him in Detroit. They can get one more year out of him and let him become a free agent, and risk losing him for nothing.
Or they can trade him.
‘Mega Trade’ Talks Rumored With World Series Champs
Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris only fueled the trade rumors on Monday, telling reporters, “I don’t believe in untouchables at any level. So anyone in our organization, at any level. It’s not a commentary on Tarik specifically. Sort of a blanket team-building approach,” as quoted by Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic.
But the Skubal rumors really took flight when David Pingalore, a sports anchor with TV station KTLA in Los Angeles, posted a video on his social media account, alleging that the Tigers were in discussions with none other than the highest payroll team in baseball â the Dodgers.
“Hereâs what Iâm hearing at the Winter Meetings,” Pingalore wrote in a statement along with the video. “The
Dodgers are in talks on a potential mega trade for Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.”
Dodgers Would Give Up Top Prospects
The anchor went on to state that no deal was done yet, “but momentum is real, and this could heat up as soon as today.”
If the alleged talks did heat up on Monday, that heat was not evident in any other reports. Pingalore did not provide any details of a package that the Tigers would want in return for Skubal, but other speculation centered around the top three prospects in the Dodgers system.
Those are outfielder Josue De Paula, ranked No. 1, a 2022 signing out of the Dominican Republic. Also Zyhir Hope, another outfielder, a 2022 11th-round draft pick who has risen to No. 2 in the Los Angeles system. And finally, No. 3-ranked Eduardo
Quintero â also an outfielder â who signed in 2023 out of Venezuela.
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