The Los Angeles Dodgers have been known to pull off remarkable trades in the offseason and at the deadline ever since Andrew Friedman was hired as president of baseball operations during the 2014 offseason.
The biggest name on the 2026 trade block is the reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal. Although starting pitching is far from a need for the Dodgers this season, their 2025 playoff run clearly demonstrated the advantage elite starting pitching provides.
The Dodgers have actually been quite restrained during the past four deadlines, but manager Dave Roberts believes the team is certainly positioned to make a trade with the Detroit Tigers to acquire Skubal, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
“They would go ballistic,” Roberts said laughing. “But we would have the prospect capital to do that. We are one of the teams that could do that with the Tigers.”
The trade-deadline deal that brought Trea Turner and Max Scherzer to the Dodgers in 2021 was the last time the front office pulled completed a blockbuster deal. They have also made significant trades to acquire Jack Flaherty, Rich Hill and Manny Machado at previous deadlines.
The organization has remained active on the trade market every year, but they have more recently shifted its focus to more shrewd tactics. This is partly due to Friedman’s outspoken dislike for paying elevated costs for talent at the deadline.
The Dodgers are also actively engaged in trade discussions throughout the offseason, whether involving Major League players or prospects who no longer fit their roster-construction plans.
The separate trades of Michael Busch, Gavin Lux and Dustin May have brought in a tremendous amount of prospect capital. This includes Zyhir Hope, Jackson Ferris, Mike Sirota and James Tibbs III.
This is the kind of haul a rebuilding team dreams of when selling off its best players, but all it cost the Dodgers was players on the fringes of their roster.
However, it is worth noting that the Dodgers’ scouting and player development departments are the driving force behind this tactic’s success. Many of the players mentioned have become top prospects under the Dodgers’ development system.
It is because of these unassuming transactions that the Dodgers now find themselves in a position to trade for a player of Skubal’s stature without handicapping their future.
Tigers likely to consider Tarik Skubal trade
MLB insider Ken Rosenthal said during a recent Fox broadcast that the Tigers will listen to trade offers for Skubal if he quickly picks up where he left off upon returning from injury.
With Skubal on track to become a free agent after the 2026 season and command one of the largest contracts for a pitcher in MLB history, the consensus is that the Tigers will, at the very least, entertain trade offers.
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