RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesThe Dodgers acquired Tarik Skubal ahead of the trade deadline.
Andrew Friedman should have worn a ski mask to work Saturday.
Because he was about to commit a robbery.
The Dodgers president of baseball operations somehow convinced the Tigers to part ways with two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal for three good-but-not-great minor leaguers.
The baseball industry has come to overvalue prospects, and Friedman used that to his advantage, exchanging three players who didn’t have real futures in his organization for a ticket to the World Series.
“Andrew worked his magic again,” one Dodgers executive said.
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
With a third consecutive World Series championship at stake, the Dodgers could have justified paying an exorbitant bounty for Skubal.
But Friedman managed to strike a deal that didn’t include the Dodgers’ most-prized outfield prospects.
He didn’t have to give up All-Star Justin Wrobleski.
He didn’t even have to trade Emmet Sheehan, who probably won’t make the postseason roster.
Friedman has done his part. Now, it’s up to the players to do theirs.
They will have absolutely no excuses.
The most loaded roster in modern baseball has become even more complete. The elements are in place for another title run.
Getty Images
The Dodgers’ playoff rotation will be led by a potentially historic 1-2 pairing of Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was the most valuable player of the World Series last year.
Yamamoto has spoken to Skubal at All-Star Games and found him to be “very friendly.”
“I think he’s the No. 1 pitcher,” Yamamoto said in Japanese, “so I’ll desperately give everything I have while being positively influenced by him.”
The Dodgers used a four-man rotation in October last season, and if they do so again this time around, behind Yamamoto and Skubal will be two of their three other Cy Young-caliber pitchers.
Tarik Skubal throws a pitch during the Tigers’ July 29 game. Getty Images
That means that if Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are all available, one of them will have to move into a relief role.
As it was, Wrobleski and Roki Sasaki already looked as if they would end up in the bullpen, with Sasaki implying earlier in the week that he would be open to such a move.
The bullpen could use the reinforcements after looking worn down in recent weeks, with Will Klein and Brock Stewart landing on the injured list.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws a pitch during the Dodgers’ Aug. 1 game. Imagn Images
The addition of Skubal could have an oversized impact on Ohtani, the two-way player who is now a month removed from last start as a pitcher.
Ohtani, who has taken a break from pitching because of discomfort in his left knee, has said he intends to return to the mound this season. Friedman and manager Dave Roberts have said they are confident he will.
Ohtani can still make a comeback as a pitcher, but he doesn’t have to.
What must have felt like an obligation to him is now a choice.
The Dodgers were already the best team in baseball before they landed Skubal, and they will now be viewed as the Harlem Globetrotters in a league in which the 29 other teams are variations of the Washington Generals.
The pressure on them will be immense.
As baseball’s financial behemoth, the Dodgers are used to operating in a world in which anything short of a World Series title is considered an abject failure.
But with the overwhelming advantages they have now, blowing this particular chance at a three-peat would be viewed as one of the greatest choke jobs in sports history.
In Dave Roberts, the Dodgers have the right manager to navigate them through the madness.
In players such as Ohtani, Yamamoto and Freddie Freeman, they have on-field leaders capable of making plays that decide the closest of games.
Now, courtesy of Friedman’s legalized burglary, the Dodgers have another advantage.
They have Tarik Skubal.
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