Why Detroit could trade him: Skubal is heading into his final season before free agency, and with contract extension talks at a standstill, the Tigers are facing the possibility of watching the best pitcher in the sport depart for another team one year from now and getting maybe only a Draft pick in return, assuming they extend him the qualifying offer. So, it might be in Detroit’s best long-term interests to see what it can get for the highly coveted ace. And Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris is listening to trade proposals.
Pros: He’s the American League Cy Young Award winner two years running, is entering his age-29 season and has averaged 193 innings, 234 strikeouts, a 2.30 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP over the past two years. Is that good? Any team that acquires Skubal isn’t just gaining a top-shelf starter; it is sending a clear signal to the rest of the league that it will do whatever it takes to win the 2026 World Series. Skubal was MLB’s most valuable pitcher by Statcast’s pitching run value metric last season, and his changeup was the game’s most valuable pitch.
Cons: It’s expected that any Skubal suitor will have to pony up a haul of players for his services and even then, there is no guarantee that his next team will have him for more than one year. The sensational southpaw is represented by Scott Boras, who typically likes for his clients to reach the open market. Thus, teams interested in Skubal have to ask themselves if it’s worth possibly mortgaging their future for 30-35 starts from Skubal — and one postseason run — before he bolts in free agency.
Why Washington could trade him: Gore might be the most popular starting pitcher on the trade block, with reports that more than half of the league has checked in with the Nationals about him. The return for him figures to be enormous, and Washington still has enough starters to construct a rotation for next season as its roster currently stands. A move would ostensibly boost the Nationals’ farm system, which ranked 23rd in MLB this past summer. Ultimately, multiple executives expect Gore to be traded, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
Pros: Gore has been considered a star in waiting since he was the third overall pick of the 2017 Draft by San Diego and the centerpiece of the Nationals’ return for Juan Soto in 2022. In 2025, he really started to put it all together. He was named an All-Star for the first time and entered the break with a 3.02 ERA and a 2.96 FIP across 110 1/3 innings. He boasted a 30.5% strikeout rate and a K-to-BB ratio of nearly 4-to-1 at the time. Gore has shown during those stretches that he can be a bona fide ace, and there is probably some untapped potential remaining in the 26-year-old left-hander.
Cons: Although the first half of last season was evidence of Gore’s ceiling, the second half showed his floor. He had a few disastrous starts out of the break and produced a 6.75 ERA and a 5.49 FIP over his final 11 turns. Gore made it through six innings only twice during that stretch, saw his K rate plummet to 20.7%, walked 29 batters in 49 1/3 innings and spent time on the injured list due to left shoulder inflammation and a right ankle impingement. He finished with a 4.17 ERA and a 4.37 expected ERA. Gore’s xERA has been 4.20 or worse in each of the past three seasons.
Why Milwaukee could trade him: The Brewers have plenty of recent history of trading star pitchers ahead of their final year under club control. They traded ace Corbin Burnes before the 2024 season and reliever Devin Williams the next offseason, each prior to their last season before free agency. In 2022, they traded closer Josh Hader about 14 months before he was slated to reach the open market. Now, they could do the same with their Opening Day starter from the past two seasons.
Pros: The 29-year-old Peralta is coming off a year in which he registered a career-best 2.70 ERA over 176 2/3 innings. He also topped the 200-strikeout mark and had a whiff rate better than 30% for the third consecutive season.