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Who Won the Dodgers-Tigers Blockbuster Tarik Skubal Trade?
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. While the Detroit Tigers must say goodbye to Tarik Skubal, their homegrown ace, it's hard to pick a loser in the blockbuster trade.
To recap : the Los Angeles Dodgers are acquiring Skubal from Detroit in exchange for three minor leaguers: pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith, and outfielder Zyhir Hope.
Tigers fans had already said goodbye to their team's chances of winning a World Series in 2026. At 52-58, they must surpass five teams in the American League standings just to clinch a Wild Card berth. They are nearly as likely to do that without Skubal as they were with the two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner.
In exchange for two months of Skubal, the Tigers received two Top 100 prospects in Ryan and Hope, and a wild card in Smith who had promising numbers in his first full professional season in the low minor leagues.
Ryan, 27, is arguably the best pitching prospect in the Dodgers' organization. Injuries, including a Tommy John procedure on his right elbow in 2024, have slowed his progress since he made a four-start cameo in MLB that season.
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Ryan has made only eight starts this season for the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate, going 3-1 with a 4.46 ERA. He has a chance to move up more quickly in Detroit than Los Angeles, and could soon give the Tigers another top-of-the-rotation ace — health permitting.
Hope, 21, had a .293/.369/.530 slash line at Double-A Tulsa, with 23 home runs and 87 RBIs, as well as 18 stolen bases. Like Ryan, Hope could find his way to the majors quickly in the Tigers' organization.
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Regardless of when they debut, Ryan and Hope might prove to be two of the better prospects that change teams before the Aug. 3 deadline. That alone makes this a win for the Tigers — regardless of what they get from Smith, 21, the Dodgers' third-round draft pick in 2023.
It's a win for the Dodgers, too, who asserted their role as the favorites to win a championship once again.
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While the Dodgers getting Skubal appears on the surface to be a case of the rich getting richer, their starting rotation had legitimate questions.
Left-hander Blake Snell (elbow) and right-hander Tyler Glasnow (back) have spent most of the season on the injured list. Although both are slated to return this month, their past success is no guarantee of future results after each missed extensive time with injuries.
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Justin Wrobleski made the National League All-Star team in July. He's already eclipsed his career high for innings pitched in a single season, at 112.2 and counting, raising questions about the left-hander's ability to dominate deep into the postseason.
Right-hander Roki Sasaki has also made big strides in his second MLB season since coming over from Japan. With a 5-5 record and 4.64 ERA, he remains a work in progress — particularly when it comes to pitching deep into games.
Right-hander Emmet Sheehan, 26, is 4-7 with a 4.95 ERA. He's a logical candidate to get bumped from the Dodgers' rotation — if not traded. For now, he's scheduled to start the finale of the Dodgers' three-game series against the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 2.
The biggest winner of the trade might be Shohei Ohtani. The two-way star hasn't pitched in a game since July 3 because of a knee injury. Although he's continued to be the Dodgers' designated hitter in spite of the injury, the Skubal trade takes pressure off Ohtani — and the Dodgers — to hasten his return to the mound.
The Skubal trade puts the Dodgers in the driver's seat, with the best record in MLB (69-41) and a clearer path to the World Series. The Tigers, who already promoted top prospect Max Clark for his major league debut earlier in the day, can fully embrace a youth movement with Smith, Ryan and Hope — and hope.
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