RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 7 sourcesThe moans, the groans, the anger, the frustration, the resentment, could be heard from the wine country of Sonoma Valley to the Catskill Mountains of New York.
Tarik Skubal is a Los Angeles Dodger .
The rich got richer.
The best got better.
The powerful became mightier.
“This is a sad day for a lot of us,’’ one National League executive said. “The Dodgers have Skubal now, and they’re going to have him in the future. It’s just a bad look. People now will want to see a salary cap more than ever just to slow down the Dodgers.’’
Said another executive, whose team did not bid on Skubal: “No use playing the rest of the year. It’s over.’’
Harsh, for sure.
Maybe even melodramatic.
Come on, the best teams don’t always win the World Series.
The prettiest girl doesn’t always wind up with the football star.
Inside information doesn’t guarantee stock market success.
There’s a chance the Dodgers don’t win the World Series.
Well, maybe a tiny one.
Yet, when your starting rotation already has baseball’s lowest ERA with two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell pitching three innings and Tyler Glasnow not pitching since May, and you now add a two-time Cy Young winner in Skubal, you kind of like their chances.
The Dodgers, who are running away with the NL West, can sit back these next two months and line up their rotation for the postseason:
World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal
Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani
Two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell
All-Star Justin Wrobleski, Roki Sasaki, Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan can help out in the bullpen.
“It will be interesting to see how every contender in the National League reacts,’’ one AL executive said. “Are they still going to be aggressive knowing you got to go through the Dodgers? It’s different in the American League. There’s no super team and you got a real chance to get to the World Series.’’
More: Who won Tarik Skubal trade? Grades for Dodgers and Tigers
Los Angeles realizes it’ll be portrayed as the villains when there’s a lockout this winter. MLB is already running commercials trying to convince fans that a salary cap is essential for future generations, but now might as well just plant the Dodgers team picture and dollar signs on the TV ads.
You know what?
The Dodgers don’t care.
The New York Mets spend more money , and look at their mess.
The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Rays have just as many prospects, and they passed on the chance to grab Skubal.
The Dodgers didn’t even give up any of their top five prospects, sending the Detroit Tigers outfielders Zyhir Hope and Brady Smith and starter River Ryan.
Yep, the same guys anyone could have had in the draft themselves.
The Dodgers got Ryan, an 11 th -round pick, in a trade in 2022 with the San Diego Padres for outfielder Matt Beaty. They got Hope, and 11 th -round pick, from the Chicago Cubs in 2024 when they didn’t have room on the roster for first baseman Michael Busch. Smith was their own third-round draft pick in 2023.
It’s no different than signing Shohei Ohtani when the Angels turned down the opportunity to keep him. Atlanta could have kept Freddie Freeman. The Boston Red Sox didn’t have to trade Mookie Betts. And all 30 teams had a chance to pick up Max Muncy for nothing when he was designated for assignment.
So, can anyone really blame the Dodgers?
Sometimes, you just got to look in the mirror.
The Brewers, who were swept by the Dodgers in the playoffs last year, could have terrified the Dodgers with a tag-team of Jacob Misiorowski and Skubal. They elected to hang onto their prospects.
The Tampa Bay Rays could have been the team to beat in the American League with Skubal anchoring their rotation.
Atlanta could have had Chris Sale and Skubal wrecking havoc throughout the National League playoffs.
The Chicago Cubs could have been dangerous enough to bring back memories of 2016 with Skubal.
So, the Dodgers seized the moment, acquiring the best pitcher in baseball without giving up a single prospect that ranks higher than fifth in their farm system.
Now, with easily the biggest star moved 43 hours before the 6 p.m. ET deadline Monday , we’ll see how the rest of the baseball world reacts, and who makes modest moves just to get into the postseason, or who dares to go big and challenge Los Angeles.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy, who joked Saturday that he stopped off at church to "say the rosary," in hopes they would win the Skubal sweepstakes, now echoes the sentiments of every other contender.
"I mean, he's a Cy Young winner the last two years, but I can't worry about what the Dodgers do,’’ Murphy told reporters Saturday night. “They've got a great organization that won back-to -back World Series and they're trying to do everything they can to compete at the end.
“We worry about what we've got to do."
So, go ahead, let out all of your frustration and venom now.
Scream to the heavens. Curse the Dodgers. Rip the current system.
And then get prepared to do it all over again when the Dodgers sign Skubal to a $400 million free-agent contract this winter, just like they did last winter when they signed the best reliever (Edwin Diaz) and the best position player (Kyle Tucker) for a mere $309 million.
Skubal isn’t going anywhere.
And neither are the Dodgers.
See you at the parade.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: The Dodgers hate is here to stay after trade for Tarik Skubal | Opinion
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