Orioles' pursuit of AL Cy Young leader could blow up trade deadline, bury Yankees

Prior to Monday's updated reporting, conventional wisdom was that the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers would be great fits for Tarik Skubal, but nothing beyond that. It was an obvious connection: both teams are prospect rich and sitting firmly in the middle of competitive windows.

Neither was actually a rumored Skubal pursuer, though; all reports stopped short at connecting the two sides, and besides, the Tigers seemed intent on keeping their left-handed ace off the market.

All of a sudden, though, the Yankees and the rest of baseball's lesser fits had better hope the Tigers stay strong here. Detroit's resolve may be the only thing standing between a balance-flipping deadline and relative stasis.

According to Sports Illustrated MLB insider Tom Verducci, the Orioles and Dodgers have moved beyond being "nice fits," and have recently confirmed their interest in overwhelming the Tigers with a prospect package for Skubal. That means, per Verducci, "packages loaded with top prospects".

Unless the Tigers want multiple catchers, the Orioles have the upper hand here if both groups go all in. The Yankees? They're lagging behind, and will be reduced to hoping that any trade proposals become rubble before July 30. Jeff Passan, you'd better be right.

Yankees should fear Orioles pursuing Tigers ace Tarik Skubal

This would ruin the Yankees -- which is something, quite frankly, that the Orioles shouldn't put a price on doing.

Skubal has been the class of the American League this season, even though Baltimore's Corbin Burnes somehow got tapped for the ASG start instead. With 140 Ks and an 0.879 WHIP in 116 innings, Skubal's a 100 MPH-spewing menace with no end in sight; he doesn't have a hard cap on his innings like Garrett Crochet of the White Sox.

Either pitcher would be a nightmare in the AL East, but Skubal's a merciless metronome with more of a track record than Chicago's lefty. Right now, the Tigers have a chance to put a stop to the madness and declare themselves contenders in 2025 by keeping their most precious asset. But maybe ... just maybe ... they decide to dip more forcefully into the forthcoming sellers' market than the Yankees expected.

And that? Would be bad.