Latest Tarik Skubal trade chatter is a reminder Rangers must be wary of

The Rangers have a hard enough time hitting left-handed pitching. The splits bear that out as they hit just .214 versus southpaws. They are significantly better against righties, with a .243 mark and a .710 OPS.

One can only imagine how they would fare against reigning back-to-back Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal regularly within the division. He is not just the best lefty in the league, but the best pitcher overall. Bleacher Report is tossing a prediction that AL West rivals, the Seattle Mariners, will be all-in buyers at the deadline and will target the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner.

The Detroit Tigers are struggling at 25-38 in the AL Central, and Skubal will be a free agent after the season. They are already 11 games behind the Cleveland Guardians and look like sellers right now. Skubal is also making his way back from undergoing a minimally invasive NanoNeedle elbow surgery on May 6 to remove loose bodies. The Tigers expect to ramp him up toward a mid-June return.

Adding Skubal to a rotation that already includes Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and emerging young Emerson Hancock would make Seattle prohibitive favorites to win the division. It would almost certainly relegate the Rangers to wild-card contenders and make a division title a bridge too far.

Bleacher Report's prediction is just one reason why the Rangers should fear the Mariners

Bleacher Report is making the somewhat bold prediction based on the closing window they face to win it all after getting so close to the World Series in 2025. Expensive contracts are nearly expiring with Gilbert, Randy Arozarena, and J.P. Crawford. Along with a talented core of minor leaguers, they make a pretty strong case for Seattle going all-in on renting Skubal for a full-on run at the brass ring.

The Rangers have handled Woo, Kirby, and Gilbert fairly well through the team's first six games early in the season, but they are slated to face them seven more times in the second half. The one thing that current AL West-leading Mariners lack is not only a dominant ace, but a top-shelf left-hander to go with their right-handed heavy starting staff.

That's not all, MLB.com speculates that Seattle could be very aggressive at the deadline, with the Mariners targeting a power bat for either third base, a corner outfield spot, or DH. The logic being that they were one of the league's boldest teams at last year's deadline, making moves for Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor, and could do the same this year amid Cal Raleigh's power outage and subsequent injury.

While the jury is still out on whether the Rangers will be buyers or sellers at the deadline, there is little question that the Mariners will be looking to add major pieces after getting a taste of the ALCS last season. They would be getting a pro-rated Skubal at just $9.4 million if they were to swing a deadline deal. The Mariners have never played in the World Series, adding even more fuel to their desire to climb to the top of the mountain.

It is something Chris Young and the Ranger fanbase should be monitoring should the team continue their recent solid play into June and July. They are currently 2.5 games behind Seattle in the standings.

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