CC0, via Wikimedia CommonsGo Get Skubal
I'm 88% sure the Braves have to trade for Tarik Skubal — not should, have to — and Strider's elbow just made the case airtight.
I'm 88% sure the Braves have to trade for Tarik Skubal. Not should. Have to.
Here's what happened in 48 hours: Strider went on the IL with elbow inflammation — his third elbow problem in seven years. His ERA was 5.31 before the arm quit. The next night, Elder got shelled 8–1 by the last-place Mets. Ten hits. Six earned runs.
Ellis wrote that the depth thesis still holds. He's right — for June. October doesn't care about your depth. October cares about aces.
Sale and Skubal is a 2.30 ERA and a 2.81 ERA at the top of your rotation. A 37-year-old Cy Young candidate and a two-time Cy Young winner with a 0.98 WHIP. Skubal already faced this lineup on April 29 and threw seven innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts. The Braves saw what he does. Now go get him.
The Dodgers are two games back and assembling what ESPN calls "a wild overpay." If LA gets Skubal and Atlanta doesn't, the NLCS is already written.
You're 46–25. Best record in baseball. The Tigers are 22–38 and selling. Skubal is on a $32 million expiring deal — Detroit isn't extending him. Prospects are lottery tickets. He's a sure thing. Passan says "swing big." The 2017 Astros went and got Verlander at the deadline. They won the World Series.
Last week I was 85% sure this is the best team in baseball. But being the best team means acting like it.
Go get the guy. Tell me I'm wrong.
The Tilt
Anything less than Skubal is how 46-25 becomes a footnote.
— Dex Ponce
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