There are regular fun ideas, and then there are "Hey, what if the Mariners traded for Tarik Skubal?" fun ideas. It would be a case of a determined contender making a blockbuster deal simply because it could, and also because opportunities to acquire back-to-back Cy Young Award winners don't often come around.
Alas, the chances of the Mariners trading for Skubal were already fading. It takes two to tango, after all, and there was buzz at the GM Meetings that the Detroit Tigers don't want to trade Skubal. They probably can't extend him either, to be sure, but it's not as if their choice is a binary one in which trading him or extending him are their only options.