Tarik Skubal Traded to Dodgers From Tigers, Latest Rumors on Full Return Ahead of MLB Deadline

Two-time American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal is reportedly on the move in a blockbuster trade. 

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Dodgers are acquiring Skubal from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-handed pitcher River Ryan and right-handed pitcher Brady Smith.

Per MLB.com, Hope (No. 5) Ryan (No. 7) and Smith (No. 17) were among Los Angeles' top 20 prospects. Hope (No. 25) and Ryan (No. 68) are also ranked in the top 100 prospects in baseball.

Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia revealed he learned about the news from an interesting source:

There was an expectation when the offseason began that Skubal would remain with the Tigers given their desire to make another push for the playoffs in 2026 after back-to-back appearances in 2024 and '25. 

Skubal's future in Detroit beyond the '26 campaign was very much in doubt. His free agency was also thrown into a state of uncertainty during the season when he underwent elbow surgery in early May to remove a loose body.

Even though the procedure is much less invasive than many elbow surgeries, teams were going to be keeping a close eye on how Skubal performed after returning since he is the biggest prize in the free-agent pool after this season.

Skubal came back on June 13 and has shown no lingering effects from the surgery.

The left-hander also didn't allow a homer since July 7 after giving up eight in his first five starts back.

After Skubal's first Cy Young season in 2024, Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network reported the Tigers offered him a four-year, $80 million extension. 

In a separate report from Oct. 16, Heyman noted the "baseline" from Skubal's camp is $400 million. He had as good an argument as any pitcher in recent memory has to hit that threshold. 

Skubal won his arbitration case against the Tigers, giving him a $32 million salary in 2026 and surpassing Juan Soto's 2024 salary ($31 million) as the richest pre-arbitration deal.

Given how wide the gap was between Skubal and the Tigers, who filed for $19 million in arbitration, it seemed likely this would be his final year in Detroit one way or another.

Skubal has led the AL in ERA in each of the past two seasons, recording 469 strikeouts and allowing just 283 hits in 387.1 innings since the start of 2024. His 12.6 fWAR during that span is 1.5 more than any other pitcher. 

Age and durability are also two things that had been working in Skubal's favor. He hadn't missed a start since returning from flexor tendon surgery midway through the 2023 season. 

Advanced metrics confirm that Skubal is as dominant as the traditional numbers show. He has led all pitchers in pitching run values in 2024 and 2025, while ranking in the 91st percentile or better in fastball velocity, average exit velocity, chase percentage, whiff percentage, strikeout percentage, walk percentage and hard-hit percentage last season. 

Even though some of his numbers were down early this season prior to the surgery, Skubal is still 7-5 with a 2.79 ERA with 116 strikeouts in 96.2 innings this season.

Skubal has proven to be effective on the biggest stage with a 2.04 ERA in six playoff starts over the past two seasons. He allowed two or fewer runs and five or fewer hits in five of those games. 

This is a massive boost for the Dodgers that gives them arguably the best pitcher in the entire sport to lead their rotation as they chase another World Series title in 2026.

It came at a steep cost in terms of prospect capital, but the reward is so high because every team hopes to have a starting pitcher they know can take the ball in Game 1 of a playoff series. 

The Tigers did well to get this return for a player they were unlikely to keep after 2026, but it certainly puts a huge dent in their hopes of being a top-tier title contender for the upcoming season. 

If you thought the Dodgers were dangerous before, now look at their rotation with Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamaoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani. 

Granted, that group has been hindered by injuries to Snell and Glasnow already this season. Ohtani's status on the mound for the remainder of the season is also unclear due to a knee injury and biceps tightness.

The Dodgers won their second consecutive World Series last season by largely avoiding using any of their traditional relievers. Their staff for Game 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays was started by Ohtani, with appearances from Glasnow, Snell and Yamamoto. Justin Wrobleski and Emmett Sheehan also got in the game. 

This is a ridiculous embarrassment of riches for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to work with right now. They already had the deepest lineup in MLB with Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Will Smith, Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernández. 

Now, it's hard to argue anyone has a deeper starting rotation than the two-time defending champs. The Dodgers have no major obstacles standing in the way of becoming the first team to win three straight World Series titles since the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2000.