Dodgers Land Skubal as MLB Trade Deadline Winners, Losers
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Tarik Skubal was traded from the Detroit Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday night for prospects Zyhir Hope, River Ryan, and Brady Smith — the biggest deal of this year's deadline.
- The Dodgers now have a potential No. 1 playoff starter plus an inside track to re-signing Skubal in free agency, while injuries to Shohei Ohtani (sore knee), Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow remain covered.
- The Baltimore Orioles sent catcher Adley Rutschman to the Boston Red Sox for three of Boston's top five prospects and Taylor Ward to Seattle — effectively conceding their 2026 season despite entering Monday with about a 17% playoff probability (via FanGraphs).
- The Milwaukee Brewers drew criticism for not pushing chips in to outbid the Dodgers for Skubal despite a loaded farm system headlined by top prospect Jesus Made; they instead added starter Dustin May from the Cardinals.
- The Detroit Tigers had a 20% chance of making the playoffs entering Sunday (via FanGraphs) and traded their ace while sitting 2½ games out of a wild card spot, one day after blowing a 7-0 lead in Skubal's start against Baltimore.
- Freddy Peralta (to the Tampa Bay Rays) and Kevin Gausman (to the Chicago Cubs) headlined the other Sunday deadline deals, while intra-division swaps and a Rutschman-led Orioles–Red Sox blockbuster closed out Monday.
Why it matters: The Dodgers now boast a potential playoff rotation of Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ohtani, and either Snell or Glasnow — making them even more prohibitive World Series favorites at a moment when the Tigers (20% playoff odds, per FanGraphs) and Brewers declined to push all-in. With Skubal entering free agency after this season, Los Angeles also secures an inside track to re-sign him, deepening concerns about competitive imbalance.
