Detroit ace Tarik Skubal, even after winning the Cy Young Award in back-to-back seasons, is not «untouchable» when it comes to trade offers, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Monday.
«I don’t believe in untouchable players at any level,» Harris told MLB Network on Monday at the winter meetings in Orlando, Florida. «It’s not a commentary on Tarik; it’s more of a blanket approach to building a winning organization. My job is to make this organization better … which means that I need to listen to every opportunity, no matter how likely or unlikely it is to actually happen. I’ve got to listen because we’ve got to get better as an organization, so that’s our approach.
«We don’t have everything figured out, but it’s led to a ton of success in a very short period of time. And I can stand here and credibly say that we have both a bright present and a bright future, and this approach has led to that.»
Jacob deGrom in 2018-19 for the New York Mets and the first American League pitcher to do so since Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000 for the Boston Red Sox.
Skubal finished 13-6 with a 2.21 ERA and 241 strikeouts in 195⅓ innings, leading the AL in Baseball-Reference WAR (6.5) and FanGraphs WAR (6.6) while also leading qualified pitchers in ERA, strikeout rate (32.2%), lowest walk rate (4.4%), OBP allowed (.240) and OPS allowed (.559).
Adam Wainwright in 2014.
Over the past two seasons, Skubal has gone 31-10 while leading MLB in strikeouts (469), WHIP (0.91) and is second in ERA (2.30), innings pitched (387⅓) and opponent OPS (.558). The Tigers’ season came to an end both times in Game 5 of the AL Division Series.
«I think we have a really good team that we’re going to put on the field — and I think Tarik is a big part of that — but there are a lot of really talented players in this organization and in the big leagues that are helping us win a lot,» Harris said.
ESPN David Schoenfield contributed to this report.
