Orioles' Superstar Prospect Floated as Possible Trade Chip to Land Tigers' Ace

The Baltimore Orioles have been connected to one of the best pitchers in the American League, and to get the deal done, they might have to trade away their superstar prospect.

Apr 23, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) during the third inning at Angel Stadium / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Coming into the All-Star break, the Baltimore Orioles desperately needed extended time off the baseball field.

Going 3-7 over their last 10 contests, they would have been tied for the AL East lead if it weren't for a crazy comeback victory against their rival New York Yankees the last game before the season reached its proverbial midway point.

The Orioles have scored the fewest runs in Major League Baseball during the past 15-day window, tied with the Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay Rays, looking like a completely different lineup than what they had shown throughout the year.

Subsequently, their team ERA of 6.12 was also near the bottom, sitting 29th during this same time frame.

The injuries to three of Baltimore's starting pitchers look to have finally caught up with them, and since this group is legitimate World Series contenders, the top priority general manager Mike Elias needs to address ahead of the July 30 trade deadline is adding another elite arm.

Many names have been floated as a possibility, but one certainly drew the attention of this fanbase.

Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci reported the Orioles are interested in American League Cy Young contender Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers. With multiple years of club control remaining before hits free agency after the 2026 season, he's an ideal candidate for Baltimore to pursue.

However, it's not going to be cheap to acquire the star left-hander.

With an AL-leading 2.41 ERA through his 19 starts, he's on pace to put up back-to-back sub-3.00 performances, showcasing that he is at the top of his game. The Tigers aren't going to part ways with someone of his profile and contract situation easily.

Who the Orioles might be packaging together in a trade proposal is unknown, but a conversation on "Chris Rose Sports" brought up the possibility that Jackson Holliday could be on the move to get this deal done.

"A lot of people are asking the biggest name to be traded and I said it might be a guy that's in the minor leagues right now. It could be Jackson Holliday."

There's no doubt that if Detroit's front office is doing their jobs then they will at least ask to get the superstar prospect, who is still ranked as the No. 1 guy in the sport, back in return. They certainly will ask for more, but that could be a starting point when it comes to conversations.

Holliday has largely been considered "untouchable" during his short career, but after his abbreviated stint in the MLB didn't go as planned, Elias might be a bit more comfortable with the idea of moving him for someone who is elite at the Major League level like Skubal.

"I don't know where a prospect like Jackson, who's mightily struggled at the big leagues, what is that worth to teams? If I'm a team, I'm taking the proven big leaguer every single time."

Saying that the 20-year-old has "mightily struggled" is an overstatement when he only got 10 games and 34 at-bats, but the fact he looked completely overmatched and struck out 18 times certainly gave some evaluators pause to the point where he was no longer considered the consensus No. 1 prospect.

Still, there is something to the idea about what Skubal could offer this team right now, and in the immediate future, compared to seeing if Holliday will ever reach the ceiling that has been projected.

"In the grand scheme of what the Orioles are trying to accomplish, I would rather have a guy that I know I can have at the top of my rotation for years ..."

Of course, this is all speculation and it's not known who is going to be offered to try and persuade the Tigers to ship out their superstar ace.

Baltimore has multiple elite prospects in their top ranked farm system who they can package together and get something done for an elite starter on the market if they go that direction.

Whether or not Holliday will be part of it will be seen ahead of July 30.