Dodgers Acquire Skubal From Tigers in Blockbuster Trade
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- The Dodgers acquired two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal from the Tigers for outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-hander River Ryan, and right-hander Brady Smith, with Skubal a pending free agent.
- Hope and Ryan were ranked as the Dodgers' fifth- and eighth-best prospects by ESPN's Kiley McDaniel in July, with Gonzalez noting the return left one Dodgers player asking 'That's all it took?'
- The Dodgers' rotation already led the majors in ERA, and adding Skubal gives them five premier starters (Skubal, Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, Ohtani) for just four playoff spots—a problem Gonzalez called 'unfair.'
- Gonzalez compared the deal to the July 31, 1998 Randy Johnson trade from Seattle to Houston, where Johnson went 10-1 with a 1.28 ERA in 11 regular-season starts down the stretch for the Astros.
- Rogers compared it to the 2017 Justin Verlander trade to Houston, noting Verlander helped the Astros win the World Series and finished second and first in Cy Young voting the following two years.
- Rogers questioned why Milwaukee didn't make a stronger offer, arguing the Brewers could have beaten the Dodgers' package without giving up top prospect Jesus Made.
- A stated motivation for the Dodgers, per Gonzalez, was keeping Skubal away from contenders who could have paired him with Cristopher Sanchez, Chris Sale, or Jacob Misiorowski in a short series.
- The Tigers, per Gonzalez, had slim chances of playing in October, making the return for a rental ace—a win for a team that couldn't afford to re-sign him.
Why it matters: The Dodgers were already World Series favorites with the majors' best rotation and run differential; adding a back-to-back Cy Young rental widens their edge over an NL field that just lost its best trade-deadline counterpunch. Detroit converted a departing ace into three prospects, while contenders like Milwaukee failed to top L.A.'s offer despite having the prospect capital to do so.
