Skubal traded to Dodgers for three prospects
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- Tarik Skubal was traded from the Detroit Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers mid-game Saturday for prospects Zyhir Hope, River Ryan, and Brady Smith, per ESPN's Jeff Passan
- Skubal, the back-to-back American League Cy Young winner, fought back tears during his post-game remarks, pausing for 13 seconds of silence when asked about the Dodgers
- Skubal spent nine seasons in the Tigers organization after being drafted in the ninth round out of Seattle University in 2018 and said the team 'never stopped believing in me'
- The Tigers, 53-58 and 5½ games back in the AL Central, opted to recoup prospects for the impending free agent rather than risk losing him for nothing at the deadline
- Skubal won an arbitration-record $32 million salary for this season after the Tigers offered $19 million, and the team never made a serious long-term extension offer
- Skubal cited back-to-back Game 5 ALDS losses — to the Cleveland Guardians in 2024 and the Seattle Mariners in 2025 — as the fuel for his stated goal of bringing a World Series to Detroit
- Skubal underwent surgery to remove loose bodies in his throwing elbow during the season but returned quickly to resume his dominance, prompting the Tigers to at least explore contention
Why it matters: The Tigers, out of contention at 53-58, converted their ace — almost certainly leaving as a free agent — into three prospects rather than receive nothing. The Dodgers landed the most coveted trade-deadline prize in years, a back-to-back Cy Young winner, while Skubal leaves the only organization he's known for a stacked rotation in Los Angeles.
