Absurd Tarik Skubal-Javy Báez Dodgers trade would never happen...right?

Whether or not a trade actually happens, any package the Dodgers try to throw at the Tigers in exchange for Tarik Skubal is sure to be jaw-dropping. In confirming the Dodgers' intention to chase Skubal, Tom Verducci wrote that a trade would be "analogous" to the Juan Soto deal that sent the slugger from the Nationals to the Padres in exchange for six players, including four top prospects. If it it were to happen, a Skubal trade would surely net a bigger return than what the White Sox will get for Garrett Crochet.

So what would it take? Five or six prospects seems like the right place to start, but what if the Tigers decided to mix it up a little and get rid of a problem that's been plaguing them for years?

Noah Camras at Dodgers Nation proposed two such trades, sending Skubal and (hold your nose) Javy Báez to LA in exchange for far fewer and not as highly-ranked prospects as Skubal could fetch on his own (pitchers Landon Knack, Payton Martin, and outfielder James Outman in the first scenario, and outfielder Eduardo Quintero, pitchers Landon Knack, Payton Martin, and Nick Frasso in the second).

For more news and rumors, check out MLB insider Robert Murray's work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop as we near the July 30 MLB trade deadline.

Would Dodgers say 'yes' to a Tarik Skubal deal with Tigers that included Javy Báez?

It's no surprise that attaching Báez's awful contract would heavily devalue a trade for Skubal on his own. By himself, the Tigers could get Dodgers Nos. 1 and 2 prospects Dalton Rushing and Josue De Paula, on top of at least three more ranked further down the pipeline. Taking on Báez would mean taking on whatever the Tigers have left to pay him of $25 million this season, then another $73 million through the 2027 season. (God, that's such an awful contract.)

If the Dodgers had to take Báez, there's pretty much no way they would retain him, even as a bench player. The Tigers haven't been brave enough to dump him and eat the contract, but if anyone can afford to do that, it's the Dodgers. It would also prevent them from having to totally dismantle the top of the pipeline for Skubal.

There's almost no way the Tigers would let this happen. Detroit fans hate Báez and would love to see him gone, but it's hard to tell if they hate him more than they want Skubal to stay put, and the Tigers don't have a shortstop ready to call up from the minors to (reliably) put there through the rest of the season in Báez's absence.

It is an interesting thought experiment, though. No one wants Báez on their roster, even if it was just for a hot second before an inevitable release, but the Dodgers need a guy like Skubal. Much to think about!