CBS Experts Predict Aug. 3 MLB Deadline Moves for Skubal, Peralta and Arraez

Q: Will Detroit's playoff dream cost them a historic trade package for ace Tarik Skubal?

Yes — if Detroit stays in the race, keeping Tarik Skubal could mean passing on the kind of deadline return few pitchers ever generate. That is the tension around the Tigers. CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa sees Skubal as the Dodgers’ ideal target because Los Angeles has both urgency and the prospect depth to make an overwhelming offer. The broader reporting supports that: Skubal is a two-time Cy Young winner, under control through 2026, and expected to command a future deal north of $350 million. A healthy Skubal would likely draw a massive package built around elite, near-MLB talent. But Detroit’s recent surge has complicated the logic of selling. Dayn Perry and Matt Snyder both project Skubal to stay, arguing the Tigers have played well enough to justify chasing the AL Central or a wild card rather than moving their ace. Other reporting says Detroit has improved sharply since June and remains close enough in the standings to believe a run is possible. That optimism is exactly what could cost them the haul. The risk for Detroit is straightforward. If the Tigers hold Skubal for a modest playoff shot and do not make a deep run, they will have sacrificed peak trade value for a narrower return later — potentially just one more season of control and, eventually, draft-pick compensation if he leaves in free agency. If they fall back before Aug. 3, the pressure to cash in will rise quickly. For now, their playoff push is the main reason a historic package may never materialize.

3 articles · Updated · CBS Sports · Jul 21

Less than two weeks before MLB’s Aug. 3 trade deadline, CBS Sports experts split on whether top names will move, with Tarik Skubal drawing the sharpest divide between Dodgers-linked trade talk and predictions he stays in Detroit.
Freddy Peralta was most often projected to the Cubs, driven by Chicago’s need for rotation help and Craig Counsell’s connection, though one expert floated a Brewers reunion amid Milwaukee’s pitching injuries.
Taylor Ward was a consensus fit for the Phillies as a right-handed outfield bat, while Luis Arraez drew mixed calls between a Red Sox rental and a Giants decision to keep — and possibly extend — him.
Boston’s recent surge also shaped predictions at the back end of the market, with all three experts expecting the Red Sox to keep All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman rather than sell.
Muddled standings across both leagues are complicating deadline plans, leaving contenders and fringe teams weighing short-term upgrades against farm-system rebuilding.