Most Important Offseason Decision Centers Around Detroit Tigers Ace

The Detroit Tigers will need to make some important decisions that help this group while they still have their ace performing at an elite level.

Jun 9, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh inning at Comerica Park / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

For the final stretch of this season, Detroit Tigers fans will get to see what the future of their team might look like after the organization decided to fully embrace a youth movement by calling up plenty of their top prospects.

Right now, there are seven players on this roster who are 24 years old or younger, and with the way they have been playing, there is tons to be excited about.

The Tigers are hoping these players blossom into franchise cornerstones for them, helping them get out of this rebuilding phase and start contending for the playoffs and divisonal titles again.

One thing that certainly is a boost for Detroit in the near future is having Tarik Skubal at the top of their rotation.

Regarded as one of the best starting pitchers in Major League Baseball, he is well on his way to winning his first AL Cy Young award by leading the American League in wins (14), ERA (2.49), WHIP (2.66), and strikeouts (185).

Figuring out how they are going to utilize the weapon that he is going forward has caused Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report to list him as the biggest offseason decision the Tigers have to make.

"Trading him might seem counterproductive for a Detroit team on the rise, but he only has two years of club control remaining and his value will never be higher. If the Tigers don't think they can realistically contend for a title in the next two years, selling high would bring back a game-changing prospect haul," he writes.

Even though they held onto the superstar through the deadline, that doesn't mean his name won't come up in trade rumors this winter.

For teams like Detroit who aren't fully in the contending tier, there's always a possibility they decide to get back more assets for someone like Skubal.

Still, trading him would make absolutely zero sense.

The most important offseason decision for the Tigers shouldn't be about weighing the decision to ship out their ace for a haul of prospects.

It should be about finding a way to bring in some elite arms to put alongside the left-hander.

If Detroit is ever going to get out of the current rebuilding phase they are in, they need high-end starting pitching.

Moving on from Skubal should be the last thing they even think about doing this winter.