Yankees Rumors: Tigers' massive ask in summer Tarik Skubal trade reportedly confirmed

As argued on this website ... no, the New York Yankees didn't need Tarik Skubal this summer. But acquiring him at the trade deadline, with Mason Miller off the table, was the splashiest move they could've made and the only real warning shot they could've sent to the Dodgers. If the packages demanded of both sides were equal — two top-100 prospects, one in the back of the top-third and one an MLB-ready pitcher — the Yankees probably should've pushed forward, if for no other reason than to make the Dodgers scramble.

The packages demanded of both sides were not equal.

As Jon Heyman wrote in the New York Post this week, the Tigers asked the world of the Yankees, who were not considered a "serious player" for Skubal. Seems like that was a mutual decision, based on the absurd requests coming from Detroit.

Ultimately, Zyhir Hope — and top-30 prospect — and River Ryan (a well-regarded 28-year-old struggling at Triple-A) made up almost the whole package the Dodgers sent. If the Yankees were to "outbid" them, it would've included ... George Lombard Jr., a top-15 name in the sport and a clear immediate difference-maker, as well as Will Warren and potentially two additional prospects. Even giving up Warren would've been a stretch. A necessary and painful one, but a stretch. Warren plus Lombard Jr. plus more? That is ... not what LA sent ya.

Yankees rebuffed Dodgers' insane Tarik Skubal trade offer, but then didn't pivot

While it would've been heartwarming to reunite Lombard Jr. with his dad (in a vacuum and a world where that didn't mean sending him off the Yankees), the choice here is clear. What would you rather have? Six years of the shortstop who already feels like a night-and-day difference-maker or two months of a redundant ace who'd rather be in LA? Oh, and you also have to give up more stuff, too. A lot more stuff.

Now, the Yankees' best hope is that the rude AL playoff bracket — featuring a teeny, tiny series with the Red Sox and a clash with the Rays if they're lucky enough to survive it (while the No. 6 seed gets to skate) — treats them kindly as the Dodgers continue to stumble, unable to weather (for the first time in their lives) the high-priced struggles of Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz. You ever notice how all the players the Dodgers have paid big bucks for since Ohtani/Yamamoto absolutely SUCK? And it doesn't matter at all? That's kind of the whole point of the upcoming lockout.

The unfortunate part, of course, is that the Yankees didn't tell the Tigers to pound sand, then go find another workable avenue for similar prospects. Heliot Ramos, so far, has been mismatched and outmatched. Luis Garcia Jr. is fantastic, but he's not a reliever. Depending on who you believe in the source-off, Warren might've been offered for two months of Adrian Morejon, an even more insulting package than the Skubal stuff, and it was turned down. Maybe.

All we can do now is hope the Tigers and Dodgers are happy (they both are, one's surging and one's the Dodgers).

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