The Tigers have some decisions to make, none bigger than the organization’s plans for back-to-back Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.

Does Detroit go all in on making a World Series push in Skubal’s last year before he hits free agency? Make a trade now to garner assets should the big righthander decide to walk, perhaps? Or, can the Tigers try to extend him although he’s likely to see the richest contract ever for a pitcher next offseason?

Quite the conundrum, which Tigers brass have been close to silent on when asked. President of baseball operations Scott Harris spoke at Major League Baseball’s winter meetings and although he would not discuss the Skubal rumors directly, he provided an interesting response when asked about the organization’s strategy regarding outside offers with a decision ahead.

“The clearest way I can answer that is I don’t believe in untouchable players at any level,” Harris said via MLB Network. “It’s not a commentary on Tarik, it’s more of a blanket approach to building a winning organization. My job is to make this organization better, which means that I need to listen to every opportunity no matter how likely or unlikely it is to actually happen. I got to listen because we got to get better as an organization. That’s our approach, we don’t have everything figured out, but it’s led to a ton of success in a very short period of time.”

Harris was asked about Skubal’s future directly, where he wouldn’t discuss or speculate on trades for his ace or any other players. You can listen to his comments in full below:

He left plenty open for interpretation, but the fact that the Tigers will listen to trade offers surrounding Skubal (or any player for that matter) will make some ears perk up. That doesn’t mean Detroit will deal debatably the best pitcher in baseball, but the front office won’t hang up as Skubal consistently hears his name in rumors.

The Tigers have made the playoffs two years in a row and dealing the dominant ace would certainly change things heading into next season. A move that sends Skubal elsewhere would be shocking and a tough pill for Tigers fans to swallow. But, as he enters his last season under team control, letting Skubal walk for nothing but draft compensation would be tough to swallow, too.

With only one year left on his deal, it’s tough to see Skubal netting a massive haul on the trade market. However, maybe another team is willing to give up a considerable amount to bring in one of baseball’s premier starters if there’s a strong chance of retaining him once his contract expires.

Whether Skubal is truly available remains to be seen. What’s certain, though, is Harris will listen once the phone rings.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tigers President Says He Doesn’t Believe in Untouchable Players Amid Tarik Skubal Rumors.

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