Tarik Skubal earns cryptic Tigers post amid Dodgers trade deadline rumors

The Tigers may have just given the biggest clue into the Tarik Skubal trade deadline rumors.On Wednesday, Skubal made his final start before Major League Baseball’s Monday trade deadline.The Tigers posted a picture of an emotional Skubal on X with only a goat emoji for the caption.As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Skubal received a standing ovation at Comerica Park in front of a home crowd wondering whether that would be final time the two-time Cy Young winner pitched for the Tigers.Several teams have been linked to Skubal, including the Dodgers, Brewers and Braves.

But it’s the back-to-back World Series champions who have the best trade capital to strike a deal with Detroit.The Dodgers have everything the Tigers would want in a blockbuster deal for Skubal: controllable starting pitching and top prospects.No other team can match what the Dodgers can offer Detroit for Skubal, but it remains to be seen whether LA will go all in for the left-hander.The Dodgers don’t exactly need Skubal given their starting rotation features Cy Young winners and All-Stars.

But the uncertainty surrounding Shohei Ohtani’s availability to pitch has given the team reason to at least explore a trade.Ohtani is dealing with biceps and knee injuries, but he has remained in the Dodgers’ lineup.Ohtani threw a bullpen session while the Dodgers were in Philadelphia, but his body did not respond well.Since then, the concern surrounding Ohtani has only grown.

Ohtani hasn’t made a start for the Dodgers since July 3 but revealed his biceps issue Tuesday.“There too, it’s a judgment of to what degree I can push it,” Ohtani said in Japanese.“It’s still July.

What judgment will be made in August and September can be decided then.”But waiting until August or September for an answer on Ohtani’s availability is quite the gamble, one the Dodgers may not be willing to take with a third consecutive World Series title on the line.Thus, Ohtani’s availability ...