Orioles Should Do Whatever It Takes To Land Tigers Ace

The Baltimore Orioles must acquire Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal at all costs.

Jul 18, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias on the field. / Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

With the MLB Trade Deadline only one week away, the Baltimore Orioles are officially on the clock.

Regardless of what happens between now and then, they've put themselves in a great position as July winds down. Entering play on Tuesday, they're 20 games over .500 and lead the New York Yankees by 1.5 games in the AL East standings. Barring a complete collapse down the stretch, they're headed for back-to-back playoff berths for the first time since 1996-1997, before many of their best players were even born.

But the Orioles are too good to settle for being a playoff team. With their talent, Baltimore's goals should be to win the division (again), finish with the best record in the American League (again), and win the World Series.

As such, the Orioles need to be aggressive at the trade deadline. This is their last, best chance to add significant talent to the 2024 team and put themselves over the top. If they play their cards right, they could add pieces that make them better in the future, too.

That's why Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal is the perfect trade target for them, and why they must acquire him at all costs.

"They should do whatever it takes to acquire Tarik Skubal."

With reports that the Tigers are scouting Orioles prospects, @Russ_Dorsey1 and #MLBNOffBase discuss what getting the southpaw would mean for Baltimore's World Series hopes. pic.twitter.com/tpgJY8IBbm

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 22, 2024

For starters, Skubal is arguably the best pitcher in the AL this year, if not all of baseball. After his latest gem against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday, he's now 11-3 with an AL-best 2.34 ERA. The first-time All-Star also sports a 0.92 WHIP, a 2.51 FIP and has been worth 4.9 WAR this year.

He's young (27) and under team control for two more years. He's also left-handed, which would make him the perfect complement to the right-handed Corbin Burnes at the top of Baltimore's rotation. Last offseason's trade for Burnes is already paying major dividends, and adding Skubal could have a similar impact.

Skubal checks all the boxes for the Orioles. He'll cost a fortune in terms of prospect capital, but Baltimore has prospects to spare. The organization has been patiently rebuilding over the past few years and stockpiling future talent in the minors, and now is the time to convert some of those minor-league assets into major-league ones.

The Orioles are already loaded with position players, but what they really need is pitching. Trading from their surplus of position players (Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, etc.) for a controllable ace in his prime makes perfect sense.

Baltimore has been conservative the last few trade deadlines, refusing to sacrifice the future for the present. But the time has come for Mike Elias to push some of his chips in. The Orioles are ready to win now and in the future. If this isn't the time to load up for a World Series run, then when?