The Dodgers didn’t need to add an impact starter to their rotation. But on Saturday, the team already considered the favorite to win the World Series got a lot better.
The Dodgers are acquiring reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal from the Tigers for three prospects, outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith, a person familiar with the negotiations who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed.
“There just aren’t that many star-level players in the game,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said earlier this week. “Any time one is available, we’re always going to participate in those conversations. We’ve shown to be very aggressive in the past.”
The Dodgers’ aggressive move on Saturday landed them the most sought-after player two days before the trade deadline.
Skubal has followed up his 2025 Cy Young season with a 2.79 ERA in 16 starts, despite undergoing an operation to remove a loose body from his elbow in early May.
Since a speedy recovery from the minimally invasive NanoNeedle procedure, he’s done enough in nine starts (2.87 ERA), pitching into the seventh inning in each of his last three, to assuage concerns about his health.
The 29-year-old Skubal is set to hit free agency after this season, so the Tigers — who are 53-58 and 2½ games out of the last American League wild-card spot — faced the likelihood of losing him in free agency for no return.
The Dodgers entered trade-deadline season in an enviable position, without an “acute need,” as Friedman put it, and were able to sit back and watch how the market developed. Rather than follow the playbook of last year, when the Dodgers supported their roster with moves around the periphery, they took a big swing.
Over the past eight months, the Dodgers have added the best free agent reliever (Edwin Díaz), the highest profile free-agent hitter (Kyle Tucker), and the most coveted trade candidate to a team that’s won back-to-back World Series titles.
The Dodgers managed to land Skubal, perhaps the only available player who could elevate their star-studded roster, without parting with any major-league players.
The Dodgers’ rotation is progressing toward health, with Blake Snell (arthroscopic elbow surgery) set to make one more minor-league rehab start before being activated and Tyler Glasnow (back spasms) on the cusp of starting a rehab assignment.
Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani, however, hasn’t pitched in almost a month, while managing a left knee ailment. Though the Dodgers have continued to insist they’re confident Ohtani will return to the mound, his timeline has proved unpredictable since he received an Orthovisc injection over the All-Star break to lubricate the joint.
With Skubal joining the ranks, the Dodgers have the best postseason rotation in baseball, with a safety net in case of injury.
As a bonus, they don’t have to worry about facing Skubal in the playoffs in their quest for a three-peat.
Of the prospects the Dodgers gave up, Ryan is the closest to the majors. The 27-year-old would have already been under consideration for a call-up this year if it weren’t for a recurring hamstring injury. Ryan — the No. 2 ranked pitcher in the Dodgers’ system, according to MLB Pipeline — has a 4.63 ERA in eight triple-A starts this year. The Dodgers acquired him from the Padres in 2022 for first baseman/outfielder Matt Beaty.
Hope, whom the Dodgers acquired from the Cubs along with left-handed prospect Jackson Ferris for infielder Michael Busch and reliever Yency Almonte two years ago, is the No. 25 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline. In a farm system flush with outfield talent, he’s the Dodgers’ fourth-highest ranked outfield prospect, behind Josue De Paula (No. 4), Mike Sirota (No. 11) and Eduardo Quintero (No.19).
Smith, who the Dodgers recently promoted to High A, is ranked as the No. 17 prospect in the Dodgers’ system. The Dodgers selected him in the third round of the 2023 MLB draft.
