The Los Angeles Dodgers made the biggest move of the trade deadline by acquiring Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith.
Skubal’s addition provided a safety net against injuries and came with the upside of adding another ace to the Dodgers’ projected playoff rotation.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is perhaps just as excited about the trade as a fan of baseball than he is as the team’s head executive.
“I will say obviously watching playoff baseball outside of when the Dodgers play, is fun for me. You don’t have a rooting interest, you can sit back and enjoy the theater of October baseball,” Friedman said. “Watching Tarik Skubal pitch in the playoffs last year was must-see TV.
“I was in awe watching the energy, the dominance he exhibited there, and I can’t wait to see it in Dodger Blue.”
The reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner helped the Tigers to playoff berths in 2024 and 2025. Although the team did not made it past the AL Division Series in either season, Skubal delivered under the bright lights.
In six postseason starts, the left-hander has gone at least six innings while allowing one run or fewer in five of the outings. The lone exception came when Skubal started short rest.
Holding the Seattle Mariners to one run over six innings of work in Game 5 of last year’s ALDS, Skubal nearly pitched the Tigers into the next round of the playoffs before Detroit was eliminated in a 15-inning marathon.
However the Dodgers plan to organize their starting rotation for October, any combination of Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Shohei Ohtani gives L.A. an extremely high ceiling to work with.
The addition of another high-end starter also protects the Dodgers against the injury concerns that have been present in their rotation this season.
Dodgers players excited for Tarik Skubal trade
An added benefit of acquiring Skubal is that the Dodgers won’t have to worry about possibly facing him in the postseason. Freddie Freeman is among the players relieved they no longer have to hit against Skubal.
As a whole, the players in the Dodgers clubhouse were very excited to see the All-Star starter join the team.
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