'Aggressive' Brewers have touched base on Skubal

Key Points:

• Padres closer Mason Miller, one of baseball's best relievers with three years of team control remaining, is unlikely to be traded, but moving him could allow San Diego to include Xander Bogaerts and offload Bogaerts' large salary, making the package attractive to other teams.
• Miller leads the National League in saves and has posted a dominant 0.93 ERA with 24 saves in the first half, positioning him as a likely choice for the NL All-Star ninth inning and a potential Cy Young candidate in a different era.
• Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, who has a 2.83 ERA and strong strikeout-to-walk ratio, is expected to be traded before the deadline as Detroit is five games out of the AL Wild Card and Skubal is in the final year of his contract, making him a valuable asset for contenders.
• Skubal has shown consistency with multiple outings of nine strikeouts and a 3.06 ERA entering his next start, but Detroit may trade him to avoid losing him for nothing in free agency if they cannot make a playoff push.
• Miller recently secured his 23rd save with a clean ninth inning against the Diamondbacks, although he has pitched on back-to-back days and may be rested for upcoming games to manage workload.