The New York Yankees have been connected to Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal several times in the lead up to the MLB trade deadline, even if it might not make the most sense.

The Yankees have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball as it is, and they are waiting on Max Fried to return from an elbow bruise. Once he does, New York’s rotation won’t even need Skubal.

However, after Will Warren was shelled for five runs on on seven hits without recording a single strikeout against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night, the pressure is starting to rise.

Ryan Garcia of Empire Sports Media took to X to vent about Yankees fans initially not wanting to include Warren in a trade offer for Skubal, making it clear that Skubal would be a massive upgrade.

“As the really high guy on Will Warren it was mind boggling to see Yankees fans pass on the concept of trading Will Warren for one of the 3-4 pitchers with a serious Best in The World case because they might need to trade for a 2-3 WAR catcher,” Garcia posted.

Garcia was referring to New York fans preferring to trade for an upgrade over Austin Wells at catcher — like Minnesota Twins star Ryan Jeffers — rather than wanting Skubal.

The problem is that Skubal is slated to hit free agency after the season, and because he is a Scott Boras client, the Yankees would have a difficult time re-signing him.

Plus, the left-hander has not looked all that great since returning from a procedure in which he had loose bodies removed from his elbow earlier this season.

Warren now has a 3.75 ERA on the campaign and has struggled over the last several weeks.

While every Yankees fan on the planet would obviously trade Warren straight up for Skubal, it’s everything else that would need to be included in the deal for the Tigers that is giving fans pause.

New York doesn’t necessarily need Skubal, which is why most would prefer the Yankees trade their best available resources to repair an area of need.

The trade deadline is on Aug. 3.