Bleacher Report thinks the Phillies should trade for Tarik Skubal and obviously, they aren’t wrong

Tarik Skubal to the Phillies?

Bleacher Report put together a piece listing one trade that makes sense for every MLB team, and look, we know what Bleacher Report is at this point, but the Phillies entry was interesting enough to talk about so here we are.

Their suggestion is that the Phillies trade for Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers, with Andrew Painter as the headliner going back the other way.

The Tarik Skubal part is obvious.

The guy has been one of the best pitchers in baseball for two years running. A 2.39 ERA in 2024, a 2.21 ERA in 2025, a WHIP under 0.92 both seasons. He is 28 years old and under team control.

If you can get Tarik Skubal, you get Tarik Skubal, full stop.

The Andrew Painter part is where things get complicated.

The Phillies trading Andrew Painter feels unlikely to the point of being almost hard to take seriously.

Here is the thing that caught my attention about the framing: If Andrew Painter is the price it takes to get Skubal, that means someone out there believes Painter has Skubal-level upside.

That is not nothing. You do not ask for a guy as the centerpiece of a trade for a Cy Young winner unless you genuinely think that guy could be something special.

So even if the trade never happens, the fact that it is being floated this way is its own kind of compliment to Andrew Painter.

That said, the Phillies rotation situation is real.

Zack Wheeler is aging and currently injured. Aaron Nola is aging. Taijuan Walker is essentially a roster placeholder at this point waiting to be replaced the second the contract allows it.

What the Phillies actually have that is young and promising is Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, and Andrew Painter. Trading one of those three to address the rotation would be a bit of a circular exercise, which is exactly the roster construction problem this organization is going to have to figure out sooner rather than later.

Bleacher Report is right that the Phillies are in must-win-now mode.

The core is getting older and the window is not going to stay open forever. Adding a pitcher of Skubal’s caliber would be a massive shot in the arm. I just do not think Andrew Painter is going anywhere, and honestly, why would he?

If Andrew Painter is good enough to get you Tarik Skubal, maybe just let him become Tarik Skubal instead.

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