The Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off one of the biggest moves of the trade deadline when they acquired two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers for a trio of prospects.
Skubal’s arrival gives the Dodgers an embarrassment of riches when it comes time to construct their postseason rotation. The left-hander should be joined by 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, along with two of Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow if they are able to return from their respective injuries.
That leaves several notable starters without a spot, including 2026 All-Star Justin Wrobleski, Roki Sasaki and Eric Lauer.
The Dodgers have been in this position before and understand the importance of clearly communicating plans to their players. Those discussions haven’t happened yet, but they will make sure to do so well before the end of the regular season.
“Fortunately, we’ve been in the postseason quite a bit, and I think people understand the landscape of what happens,” manager Dave Roberts said.
“Players are very observant. People want to be treated as adults, so then you’ve got to act like an adult to be able to read the room. We have a lot of guys that know how to read the room, but again, those conversations are not going to happen for quite some time.”
If it comes down to several starters needing to be moved to the bullpen again, there shouldn’t be any pushback as players understand it takes an all-hands-on-deck approach to win the World Series.
Furthermore, Wrobleski, Sasaki and Lauer all have experience pitching out of the bullpen in the postseason. Ditto for Glasnow, who shined when asked to pitch in relief last October.
While it may look like the Dodgers have a surplus of starting pitching on paper, that rarely translates into reality. A lot can transpire between now and the end of September, so L.A. will continue to play things by ear until they are ready to set their postseason rotation.
Tarik Skubal makes history with Dodgers
Skubal and Ohtani joining forces is a daunting thought for any team that crosses paths with the Dodgers in October, and it is the first time that players who won the Cy Young Award and MVP in the previous two seasons are playing together on the same team.
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