There is still over a month before the Major League Baseball (MLB) trade deadline, but a Tarik Skubal Dodgers trade needs to happen before the salary cap is instituted in 2027. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expires at the end of the season, and all signs are pointing to an NHL-style cap being inevitable. The team with the league’s biggest payroll making a mid-season move for the best pitcher in baseball would be the perfect middle finger to Rob Manfred and baseball’s 30 owners.
Since 2024, Skubal has started 70 games, and no other hurler in the MLB has been better. He has a 34-13 record (.723 winning average), and while wins and losses are a team achievement, a good or bad starting pitcher can tip the scales. Skubal has dominated other stats as well. He has a 2.36 ERA over that span and a 0.914 WHIP (Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched), which gives him a WHERIP (baseball’s top pitching metric) of 1.176. He has also struck out 6.91 hitters for every one he has walked (K:BB).
Paul Skenes, who could also be argued as the best pitcher in baseball, has started 69 games over the same span. He has a better ERA (2.13), but has only struck out 5.34 batters per walk, and his WHERIP comes up short as well (1.182). It’s a moot point anyway, because even if Skenes had been better (which he hasn’t), he is not available for trade, and Skubal is.
The Detroit Tigers Should Be Motivated To Trade Skubal
Most teams would not be willing to part with a player of Skubal’s caliber, but the Detroit Tigers are motivated sellers. They are at the bottom of baseball’s standings, with a 29-42 record. They have no shot of getting into the playoffs, and their season is over, even though they are less than halfway through the year. They should be looking to build their farm system by moving any player on their roster with value, and no player has more value than Skubal.
The 29-year-old lefty has won the last two American League Cy Young Awards, and it’s unlikely he wants to be in Motown any longer than he needs to be. Not only is he on a sinking ship, but his contract negotiations were quite contentious this offseason, with an impartial judge awarding him $32 million for this season (a record in arbitration). He will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, and aside from personal tensions, injuries are a concern.
Skubal had Tommy John surgery in college, missing a year and a half, and is 30 days removed from surgery on his throwing elbow. The team would likely be reluctant to offer him the type of deal he will demand to stay long-term. It would not be unthinkable to see him ask for something triple what Zack Wheeler received from the Philadelphia Phillies (3 years and $126 million).
A Tarik Skubal Dodgers Trade Would Yield A King’s Ransom
Despite turning 30 in November and his arm issues, Skubal will not be cheap to acquire for two months or more. At the deadline in 2023, the New York Mets received two of the Houston Astros’ top prospects in exchange for Justin Verlander, who was 40 at the time. He was far past his prime, and if he was worth two top minor-league players, Skubal should yield four or five. Verlander still had another year on his contract when he was moved, whereas Skubal could walk after the season, so that could lower the price, but not much.
If the Dodgers were committed to bringing in Skubal, they would definitely have to part with outfield prospect Josue De Paula, who is hitting .326 with 10 home runs and 54 RBIs through 59 games at AA Tulane. His teammate, Mike Sirota, would also be included. The 22-year-old is hitting .332 with 10 home runs and 39 RBIs in 57 games. Both players are expected to be Major League-ready in 2027.
The Tigers would also want a couple of developmental players, and since they are giving up a pitcher, they’d want at least one in return. River Ryan has started four games for the Dodgers this season, is 1-0 with a 1.33 ERA, but is 27-years-old, so one more young player would need to be part of the deal. Enter Christian Zazueta. The 6’3 righty is 21 years old and is currently 2-2 with a 4.33 ERA in High-A Great Lakes.
Would It Be Worth It?
It would be a lot to give up, but it would add Skubal to a team that is currently tied for second in team ERA (3.32), narrowly behind the league-leading Atlanta Braves (3.23). He would join a rotation that already includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-4, 2.52 ERA), Justin Wrobelski (7-2, 2.95 ERA), and Shohei Ohtani (6-2, 1.06 ERA). It doesn’t matter in what order they are faced, that rotation wins every series in the playoffs 4-0.
At the end of the day, every team GM or front office suit will say without hesitation that there is no cost too steep for a World Series title. For the Dodgers, it would mean doing something that hasn’t been done in sports since their basketball siblings in 2002. A threepeat.
