ANGRY MIKE
Why trading for Tarik Skubal would do more harm than good for the Mets:
A. Lets accept the fact the Mets are not a Tarik Skubal away from positioning themselves to win a 7-game series vs. the Dodgers .
B. Skubal is a Boras client -> which means he is 100% testing the FA market, and has no intention of signing a contract in the event he is traded, as stipulated by Garrett Crochet.
C. By acquiring Skubal for a ludicrous 5 for 1 proposals being suggested, the Mets essentially bail out the Tigers by guaranteeing a return that is exponentially more valuable than the compensatory draft picks that are attached with a qualifying offer. Players drafted with these selections at best could contribute for the #Tigers in a few years.
D. By trading these 4-5 players, the Mets essentially assume all of the risk from the Tigers, bailing them out from having to watch Skubal play out his final year and then signing with another team, and having nothing to show for it except a 4th Rd pick we'd receive b/c we are over the CBT threshold.
On top of only receiving a draft pick, Mets now gift-wrapped 4 potential starters, multiple years of team control, and some of the best young talent the Mets have in their organization. Its a ridiculous to believe any player is worth that much in prospect capital, not even Juan Soto required that type of return.
E. By acquiring Skubal and eliminating the opportunity to field 4 players to fill positions of need, we now have to add another $50-$100 million in payroll filling those positions as our other prospects simply aren't ready to contribute.
F. That type of package drastically improves the Tigers in the short run, making their organization a far more attractive destination than it was before the trade. That many young impact players able to contribute right away also creates a significant amount of payroll flexibility that can be used to improve other areas of need.
G. What the Mets would potentially help the Tigers to achieve in one transaction would have taken tens of millions of dollars of investment into new players, as well as banking on unproven prospects. The proposals being pitched by media outlets are not only counterproductive, they literally help the Tigers out more then Skubal could possibly help the Mets.
When the Yankees acquired Soto, the entire fanbase was already licking their chops over the idea of Soto becoming a Yankee for the next 100 years. Unfortunately acquiring him for the final year of his contract did not provide the leverage or inside track they thought was guaranteed, even worse, the glitz and glamour of being a member of the Yankees organization also did not convince Soto to remain with the organization.
Last but not least, neither did the man-crush love radiating from the "Bleacher Creatures" all season long, a truly SHOCKING development.
So why would we make the same mistake with Skubal, when the Mets have to accept the fact they need to re-assess their roster and continue developing more players in-house, so they could potentially limit the CBT luxury tax amount they pay every year.
Is Skubal worth Jonah Tong and couple other top prospects? Of course, it's Tarik Skubal.
But does acquiring Skubal position the Mets to be favorites to even win the N.L. East?
No.
Does it position them to be favorites to win the #1 seed in the N.L.?
No.
Does Skubal alone position the Mets to make a deep postseason run?
No.
Does it make them favorites to beat the Dodgers in any type of 5 or 7 game series?
No.
Does Skubal position the Mets as favorites to win the World Series in 2026?
Not even close.
Best course of action is to wait for Skubal to hit free agency, as we did with Soto, years go by fast, the recuperation of lost prospects DOES NOT.
As the Mets wait for a chance to pursue Skubal, clean up the payroll, commit to developing as many of MLB-ready prospects as possible.
Creating additional payroll flexibility helps us improve areas of need in the event we win the Skubal sweepstakes.
Assuming the risk the Tigers are currently on the hook for, which entails watching Skubal walk in free agency is even more devastating if the Mets acquire him at the cost being proposed by "experts".
I have a hunch Skubal has been on Mets Owner Steve Cohen's radar for quite some time, and his talent and leadership qualities for anchoring our rotation is worth a record-breaking offer in the winter of 2026.
Trade Scenario I would consider for SKUBAL:
METS RECEIVE:
TARIK SKUBAL : Skubal agrees to $400 million extension / 8 years
DYLAN SMITH : RP : #20 Rank Prospect -> Excellent Fastball / Slider combo
TIGERS RECEIVE:
LUIS TORRENS: 2025 Gold Glove Nominee -> 2 years of team control remaining
CHRISTIAN SCOTT: Fully healthy and schedule to be ready for Spring Training
JACOB REIMER: 3B: #6 Overall prospect -> 2025 Offensive Prospect of the Year
RYAN CLIFFORD: 1B / OF -> Ranked #8 Overall prospect -> 65 grade power
WILL WATSON: SP -> #11 Ranked Overall prospect -> similar arsenal Jonah Tong
DAVIEL HURTADO: SP/RP : High upside LHP:solid 2025 #'s, healthy return from T.J.
Torrens gives the Tigers insurance for sophomore Dillon Dingler who had a stellar rookie season in 2025, but looked worn down during the postseason. Reimer is the best prospect, and on a similar development schedule as the Tigers 2 best prospects, Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark. McGonigle, Clark and Reimer form an excellent nucleus the Tigers can build around, similarly to the Mets trio of Vientos, Baty, and Alvarez. Scott and Watson are two high-upside arms, that would immediately rank as the Tigers best pitching prospects. Hurtado is another high upside arm that is several years away, but is the type of low-A ball player teams covet when rounding out a prospect package.
14 comments:
Interesting proposal. It would heavily revolve around whether Detroit really believed Scott would be ready to be a regular starter just 18 months after TJS. They might want Sproat instead.
Skubal is incredible, but going to free agency in 2027 DOES make it murky.
Did read this:
TARIK SKUBAL'S FINAL PITCH OF THE COMPLETE GAME SHUTOUT WAS 103 MPH 🔥 (via MLB)
I agree with your logic. Trading for Skubal on hopes he would re-sign would be taking on excessive risk. Skubal has certainly established himself as a top ace, and it would be great to have him but unless the Mets went to the world series the year he arrived, he would not stay. This year the Mets were a hot mess - I think Soto would not have stayed if he were not locked down for that long contract.
Do the two of you honestly think that team would agree to a handful of secondary prospects
It would take
Williams or Benge
Tong or Wenninger
Watson or Santucci
2 rookie level prospects.
The Tigers organization is stacked in pitching. They are graduating Melton to the rotation this coming year. I agree with both Mike and Mack. Certainly, putting yourself in the hot seat is not worth it for a Boras client and I was surprised the Yankees did that with Soto. But, having the inside track is worth something…
That package is light, but when the Dodgers traded for Glasnow and had a three day window to negotiate, that was bullshit. Only the Friedman/Tampa relationship made that happen and that isn’t fair to 28 other teams. I would not do a trade if I ran a team if I didn’t get a new contract first. The Yankees really screwed themselves by trading those kids to San Diego, but “flags fly forever”. Whatever.
And Gus, Skubal will get some kind of mega jumbo contract. It’s Cohen’s money, but it takes a village of players. I’d prefer to see how 2026 goes with our kids.
I want him and the Mets now have the prospect depth to pull this off
They could afford to lose either Benge or Williams Putting Morabito on the 40 would reduce the sting
The Mets can only play one third baseman. Mauricio or Reimer would work here
Mets have a shitload of catcher prospects. Suero could work here. Y-Rod could seal the deal
Add Dylan Ross and a lower level prospect
Mike,
Agree 100%. The only way you make this trade is Skubal has to sign a contract now or forget about it.
You will have to deal with BORASS...NFW.
McLean and Skubal in the same rotation would be some 1-2 punch.
NO NO AND NO!
But what do you 🤔 think?
That's a reasonable take. I would ask for one of the 3 aces if I were the Tigers, likely Sproat
May the Viper suggest that we think realistically?.
If the Mets fix the BP, bring in an ace to go along with McLean, Peterson, Holmes and either Manaea, Senga or Scott, is that enough for the Mets to at least be a WC contender?.
The only reason the Mets failed to reach at least the WC this year is because the starting rotation and the BP had catastrophic injuries to key players. Lets not forget how well the first half of the year went when everyone was healthy.
To trade the future in order to try to justify the failures of the present is stupid in my view. The Mets need the energy that our best prospects will bring. They need to promote from within and take 2026 as a learning year in order to put together the 2027 team and beyond. A team that will be maintained from within in with smart scouting, smart trades and knowing when to allow players to walk away in FA. Just like we need to do with Alonso in 2026.
Smart trades? Like giving away Tidwell plus other good prospects for two months of a sidearmer? Geniuses!!!
RHP Blade Tidwell (No. 13)
Acquired from the Mets as part of the Tyler Rogers trade, Tidwell recorded a 1.50 ERA with 24 strikeouts over 18 innings in four appearances (three starts) for Triple-A Sacramento. The 24-year-old was on the verge of a big league callup before landing on the injured list with a shoulder issue, but he managed to return to the mound before the end of the regular season and is expected to be full go this winter.
Tidwell endured a bumpy introduction to the Majors with the Mets, logging a 9.00 ERA in four outings in 2025, but he remains one of the most advanced arms in the Giants’ system and could have a shot to compete for a rotation spot next spring.
“He threw the ball great in Triple-A,” vice president of player development Randy Winn said last week. “Upper 90s with the fastball, showed the ability to throw two different breaking balls. He had an idea of how to execute with those breaking balls.
"You saw a guy that knew what he was doing. He knew how to shape his breaking ball, bounce it when he needed to, drop it in for a strike when he needed to. He’s working on tightening up some of his four-pitch options, but he’s definitely an exciting arm.”
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