I Said Go Get Him Three Weeks Ago. Now Everybody Agrees.

Six outlets in forty-eight hours. Nightengale. Passan. ClutchPoints. Heavy. Yahoo. Sportsnaut. All saying the same thing I said on June 15: the Braves need Tarik Skubal.

I was at 88% then. I dropped to 73% on June 27 because the rental math gave me pause. Gray and Mize felt smarter. Safer.

I'm raising it back to 84%.

Here's what changed: Jeff Passan told this franchise to "swing big." Rival executives told Nightengale that Atlanta is the favorite. The national media didn't discover this take -- they arrived at it three weeks late.

Now here's the part that bothers me. 680 The Fan says a Skubal deal "is not going to come to fruition." House That Hank Built calls the idea "confusing" because Anthopoulos doesn't chase rentals.

Doesn't chase rentals?

Soler. Rosario. Pederson. Duvall. 2021. Every single one a rental. One became World Series MVP. Another became NLCS MVP. The franchise's only championship this century was built on rentals.

The Phillies are three games back and they don't face a winning team until July 20. Every day Atlanta deliberates, the lead shrinks and the price climbs. The Dodgers are assembling packages while this city debates whether it's allowed to want the best pitcher alive.

I'm 84% sure the Braves trade for Skubal before August 3. The 16% is Anthopoulos overthinking it. And overthinking is how you lose a pennant race you're winning.