Phillies named as suitor for Tarik Skubal, but with a twist their fans will hate

1 week ago 6

The Philadelphia Phillies are going to be active this offseason. After another failed year of trying to run it back, the Phillies need to make some sweeping changes to the roster this offseason.

If there's one area of the roster that's set in stone, it would be the starting rotation. However, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand tabbed the Phillies as a possible suitor in free agency for Cy Young-winning left-hander Tarik Skubal.

Signing Skubal would be quite the stunner for the Phillies and would give them the best rotation in MLB, likely by a wide margin. However, Feinsand revealed a twist that this signing could bring, and it's one that Phillies fans would hate.

Phillies tabbed as Tarik Skubal suitor with a twist their fans will hate

"Dave Dombrowski has never been shy about spending in free agency, so the Phillies are at least a dark horse candidate to make a play for Skubal," Feinsand writes. "Zack Wheeler has one year remaining on his contract, and given the depth of Philadelphia's rotation, the club could trade either Cristopher Sanchez or Jesus Luzardo to fill other holes if it added Skubal to the top of the rotation."

There is nothing wrong with the concept of signing Skubal to the Phillies roster. He'd form a dominant six-man rotation with a ton of potential.

Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Andrew Painter are already a strong starting rotation for the Phillies. Add Skubal into the mix? And that's the kind of rotation that could strike fear into the teams they face in October.

However, Feinsand pitched a brutal twist that such a move could bring, with the Phillies potentially trading away either Sanchez or Luzardo to make way for Skubal.

Considering both left-handers are beloved by the city, and on very reasonable contracts for their respective talents, the Phillies would be foolish to trade either one of them.

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With Wheeler close to retirement, and Nola having a shaky last few seasons, if they were actually to add Skubal, the Phillies should keep all six of their starters on the team for as long as they can.

Teams recently have shown it's never a bad idea to have too many starting pitchers. Skubal joining the Phillies rotation, resulting in a trade of Luzardo or Sanchez, would be a brutal twist, especially since Nola's regressing and Wheeler might retire after 2027.

If they were to sign Skubal, it should be done with the intention of making him the long-term Wheeler replacement, and as a strong option to pair with Luzardo and Sanchez, not as a replacement for either starter.

So, while the concept of being a dark-horse landing spot for Skubal is intriguing, Phillies fans would surely hate it if it coincided with a trade of Luzardo or Sanchez.