Dodgers Acquire Tarik Skubal In Blockbuster Deal With Tigers

And there it is. As we all expected, the Los Angeles Dodgers have indeed won the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes, landing the two time Cy Young award winner from the Detroit Tigers in a late night trade.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are acquiring Tarik Skubal for outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-hander River Ryan and right-hander Brady Smith, sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 2, 2026

In return, the Tigers receive outfielder Zyhir Hope, the Dodgers' No. 5 prospect (#25 in all of baseball), right-hander River Ryan (Dodgers' No. 7 prospect) and right-hander Brady Smith.  

The back-to-back World Series champions are now well on their way to a three-peat, as they'll be able to roll out a rotation in a short playoff series of Skubal, World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and either another former Cy Young winner Blake Snell, multi-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, or dominating Tyler Glasnow. 

Skubal, a pending free agent after the season, set an arbitration record this year when he was awarded a $32 million salary for 2026.

He missed more than a month earlier this season after a first-of-its kind procedure for an MLB pitcher to remove a loose body from his left elbow. He came back in less than half the time that was projected. 

He has a 2.70 ERA this season. 

One offshoot of this trade is that the possibility of the owners digging in for a salary cap is even greater now than it was before. Former GM Jim Bowden said on MLB Network Radio Sunday morning that for the first time, he's sure there will be a work stoppage in 2027.