The Braves have slipped enough over the last month to make the NL East race feel a lot tighter, even while they still sit 3.0 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. Ronald Acuna Jr. is back in the lineup, which should help, but Atlanta’s bigger issue is sitting on the mound. Spencer Strider might be done for the season, and Spencer Schwellenbach is still something of a question mark.
That’s why Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report pointed to Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal as the “perfect” trade deadline target for Atlanta.
“Atlanta Braves (96.7% postseason odds): LHP Tarik Skubal,” Miller writes. “Surely, though, Braves GM Alex Anthopolous is tirelessly working the phones to figure out the best arm tentatively available, because they need someone other than Chris Sale who can start a postseason game.”
The fit makes sense on paper for a couple of straightforward reasons. The Braves need a rotation upgrade, and Skubal is the best arm available on the market. Atlanta also has the financial room to absorb the rest of his $32 million contract, which matters in a deal for a pitcher of this caliber.
The other piece is the trade package. Detroit would demand a massive return, but the Braves have young pitching to work with, including JR Ritchie, Cam Caminiti, and Didier Fuentes.
If the Tigers are truly willing to shop Skubal or even listen seriously, Atlanta looks like one of the cleanest matches out there. It would be expensive, no doubt. But adding Skubal to Chris Sale would give the Braves two of the best, if not the best, left-handed pitchers in Major League Baseball.
For a team that needs another starter it can trust in October, Skubal checks just about every box.
In Other News…
Kerry Carpenter Scare Just Exposed A Bigger Tigers Problem
Kerry Carpenters night ended in the 10th inning when the Tigers pulled him from the game after a bruised heel, another small but relevant hit to an offense that has been searching for traction. Carpenter has been in a deep slump at the plate, and for a club trying to sort out its deadline priorities, even a short-term issue with one of its left-handed bats adds another layer of uncertainty.
The timing matters because Detroit is already weighing whether it needs to add more offense before the deadline, and Carpenters recent struggles only sharpen that conversation. The Tigers have been trying to determine how aggressive to get in the market, and the answer will shape whether this lineup gets the kind of help it has been lacking or settles for a quieter approach.
Tigers Make Troubling Will Vest Move As Bullpen Depth Gets Tested Again
The Tigers bullpen took another hit when the club opened a roster spot by moving Will Vest to the 60-day injured list and turning to Triple-A for help. Detroit selected the contract of right-hander Troy Watson from Toledo, giving the late-inning group another arm to lean on as the injuries continue to chip away at its depth.
Watson has been in the organization since 2024 and has recently been effective for the Mud Hens, which made him a logical call-up when the Tigers needed coverage. For a bullpen that has already been asked to absorb plenty of stress, the move is another reminder that Detroit may have to keep piecing things together while it waits for healthier options to return.
Tigers Just Closed The Loop On A Very Scott Harris Bet
The Tigers spent the back half of the draft trying to turn one of Scott Harris favorite kinds of bet into a real organizational win, and they may have done it with an 18-year-old Alabama prep infielder whose profile carried more upside than his draft slot suggested. A two-way prospect with some power, he arrived with the kind of amateur pedigree that tends to make clubs think beyond where he was picked, especially after earning Gatorades Alabama high school Player of the Year honor.
What made the deal work was the financial maneuvering behind it. Detroit had enough room after getting first-rounder Cameron Flukey signed below slot to go after the LSU commit with a stronger bonus, and that kind of creativity is exactly how teams try to squeeze extra value out of a draft board. The Tigers clearly believed they could get him out of his college plan, and the fact that they were able to do so says plenty about how aggressively they wanted to close the loop on this one.
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