3 Mock Trades For Dodgers to Acquire Tigers' Tarik Skubal

The Los Angeles Dodgers keep saying they are fine on starting pitching, but the Tarik Skubal rumor never really dies when you are built to win right now and your rotation has real injury risk. 

If Detroit ever softens its stance, or if the price finally meets the moment, the Dodgers are one of the few teams that can actually make the Tigers listen without emptying the entire cupboard.

Why the Dodgers could justify going big for Skubal

Skubal is the type of ace who changes how October looks. The lefty is coming off another monster season, going 13-6 with a 2.21 ERA over 31 starts, striking out 241 in 195.1 innings with a 0.89 WHIP, plus a complete game and a shutout. 

On top of that, he is an American League All-Star and a back-to-back Cy Young winner, which is exactly why Detroit’s ask has been described as massive and why other big market teams have reportedly backed off when the conversation turns to elite prospects.

Three mock trade paths that could get Detroit to budge

One version is the prospect avalanche, where the Dodgers send a bundle like Emmet Sheehan, Andy Pages, Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope, and Alex Freeland to Detroit. 

Dodgers Acquire:

Tarik Skubal

                                                            

Tigers Acquire:

Emmet Sheehan, Andy Pages, Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope, and Alex Freeland

Another path is the headline package that would make everyone blink, built around Roki Sasaki with Hope and Jackson Ferris coming with him, the kind of offer that screams both present and future value for the Tigers. 

Dodgers Acquire:

Tarik Skubal

Tigers Acquire:

Roki Sasaki, Zyhir Hope/or Jackson Ferris

Then there is the creative three-team idea, where Los Angeles lands Skubal, Detroit takes a mix of Sheehan, Hope, Freeland, plus a premium bat prospect from a third club, and the Dodgers route Tyler Glasnow elsewhere to balance the money and the needs.

Dodgers Acquire:

Tarik Skubal

Tigers Acquire:

Emmet Sheehan, Zyhir Hope/or Alex Freeland & Premium Bat Prospect from Third Club.

Third Club Acquires:

Tyler Glasnow

None of these are easy sells, especially because the Dodgers do not “need” Skubal to be dangerous. The case for doing it anyway is if your window is wide open and if the market stays frozen by Detroit’s price tag, Los Angeles can be the team that finally pays it.

Photo Credit: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images