Los Angeles Dodgers trade for Tarik Skubal higlights Major League Baseball's massive problem
Fox News · R · trust 52/100
Video Joe Girardi reveals what two major things make the trade deadline 'interesting' The World Series champion talks to Fox News Digital about the impact the additional postseason spots and upcoming CBA negotiations will have on the trade deadline.
Late Saturday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers did the expected, and the unthinkable, and traded for superstar starter and the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, Tarik Skubal.
The Dodgers sent a trio of young players to the Detroit Tigers , outfielder Zyhir Hope, pitcher River Ryan, and another minor league pitcher, Brady Smith. Hope ranked 26th overall in The Athletic’s latest prospect update, and Ryan ranked 41st. Smith was described by Fangraphs as having "nasty stuff," and as of last week, was striking out over 14 hitters per nine innings in the minor leagues.
To say the trade sent shockwaves through baseball fan social media would be a massive understatement. Outrage reigned supreme, with many bewildered "that’s all the Tigers got?" Along with the usual, "cancel the season," "cancel next season," "we want a lockout," and many other irrational seething diatribes.
But while the trade, like all deadline deals, is sure to have its critics and defenders, one thing about it is certain: Major League Baseball has a problem. It’s just not the one that the anti-Dodgers, cancel the season, lockout brigade thinks it is.
Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers delivers his 1,000th strikeout pitch against Taylor Ward of the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Comerica Park on July 29, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) (Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
First, it’s important to define what this trade is, and isn’t, because many casual fans don’t seem to fully understand how it works. Yes, the Dodgers traded for Tarik Skubal. But for many, that implies he’ll spend the rest of his career in Los Angeles. That may or may not be the case, but that’s not what this trade determines.
Modern front offices, and dedicated fans, understand that for a player whose contract expires at the end of the season, any trade is not for the rest of their career, it’s for the remaining 9-10 regular season starts. That’s it. The Dodgers are overwhelming favorites to make the postseason, but should the unlikely happen and say, they lose 20 games in a row and miss out, they’ll have traded those players just for Skubal’s regular season starts. The return the Tigers got for 9-10 starts was outstanding, by that measure.
Hope has yet to reach the major leagues, meaning he has six seasons of team control ahead of him. He’s just 21-years-old, but dominating AA to the tune of 23 home runs and 18 steals in just 94 games. Overall, he’s hitting .293/.369/.530. Obviously that doesn’t mean he’ll replicate those statistics in the big leagues immediately, but the Tigers now have him in their organization for six major league seasons at well below market rates.
Ryan has started his major league service time clock, but prospect evaluators believe he’s ready to pitch in a rotation right now, with a "monster" fastball, per Fangraphs. He struck out nearly 11 hitters per nine innings in the minors, while walking less than two. Some bad luck on batted balls in play makes his ERA look worse, but his underlying metrics are impressive. He’s under control for years to come. Incredibly, in yet another testament to the Dodgers' front office, they acquired Zyhir Hope in a trade with the Cubs, and River Ryan from the Padres for a utility player who's now out of baseball.
Still, all this for maybe nine starts, and a five-day exclusive negotiating window, for a player represented by Scott Boras. Boras clients are well known for rarely, if ever, signing extensions, instead waiting for the open market to identify the highest bidder.
There’s an assumption the Dodgers will automatically sign Skubal to a long-term contract because of the trade. They may well try, but unless it comes in that five-day window, the trade will have nothing to do with it. The Dodgers traded for Manny Machado in 2018 and let him leave for the San Diego Padres. They traded for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner in 2021. Both left in free agency when their contracts expired. They traded for Yu Darvish in 2017, and he too left in free agency. Corey Seager, a homegrown Dodgers star, signed with the Texas Rangers after the 2021 season.
Given Boras’ track record, it’s a near-certainty the other 29 teams will have the same ability, if they so choose, to sign Skubal. Which is where the problem with this trade, and the reaction to it, starts. The Dodgers didn’t trade for Skubal because they outspend everyone. Any team in baseball could afford to take on the remainder of his salary. They got Skubal because, and this is where MLB’s big issue lies, they are one of a handful of teams that actually cares about winning.
Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers celebrates as he leaves the field in the fifth inning during Game 2 of the Division Series presented by Booking.com between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Monday, October 7, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/MLB Photos via Getty Images) (Lauren Leigh Bacho/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Yes, the Dodgers gave up two very high quality prospects for Skubal. But teams like the Brewers , Rays, Braves or Cubs, may have been able to top LA’s offer. They weren’t willing to. Not because they don’t have quality prospects of their own, or because they couldn’t afford to pay his salary, but because they don’t seem to understand what should be the primary goal in competitive sports: winning is. Flags fly forever. Championship banners last forever.
You know what doesn’t last forever? Surplus prospect value.
Milwaukee has been the best team in baseball the last two years. They have a better record than Los Angeles thus far in 2026, and they finished four games ahead of the Dodgers in 2025. One…
Read the original at Fox News →
Open in TruthVane →