DETROIT — The idea that what the Detroit Tigers do at the trade deadline hinges on what happens in the next five games should be considered a myth.Most modern front offices are far too process-driven to base franchise-altering decisions on whether they are, say, 4 1/2 games or 2 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. After Monday’s 8-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the Tigers have lost three straight contests, their shoddy bullpen hurting them in all three. Even if they win five straight from here, the playoffs odds are unlikely to alter in any drastic fashion.So the Tigers mostly know their reality. As manager A.J. Hinch keeps saying, they have a good team with a bad record. They are also a deeply imperfect team, one that will likely enter Aug. 3 on the outside looking in on the playoff picture. With that knowledge at hand, the Tigers have to make their choice. That choice just might mean trading Tarik Skubal.Sure, the Tigers could keep Skubal and try to make an against-the-odds push. They have a good enough starting rotation to make anything possible in this unusually weak American League. But they would surely need back-end bullpen help and possibly more. Making such a decision and staying true to this team’s original mission could be invigorating. It would also be a massive and perhaps reckless gamble.How many players will the Mets trade by the deadline?Ken Rosenthal and Johnny SweetThe team’s decision-makers have mostly branded themselves as patient, pragmatic and focused on the long game. That is one reason president of baseball operations Scott Harris did not act more aggressively at last year’s trade deadline, when the Tigers had one of the best teams in baseball and a golden opportunity in their hands. If the Tigers acted with restraint then, it would behoove them to act with restraint now.