The Tarik Skubal deal has already taken on a life of its own, and a week after the Detroit Tigers shipped their ace to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the early returns are making the front office look a lot less reckless than plenty of people thought at the time.
The backlash came fast. Detroit’s haul was widely panned as light, and that set off the usual swirl of theories about favoritism and the Dodgers somehow getting their way. But the players many believed should have been part of the package haven’t exactly answered those doubts with strong performances.
River Ryan drew plenty of jokes as a 27-year-old “prospect,” especially because he has barely pitched in recent years while dealing with injury. That led to the argument that Detroit should have pushed for someone with more established big league work, like Emmet Sheehan or Justin Wrobleski.
Right now, that complaint looks a lot weaker.
Sheehan was sent down to Triple-A after a rough stretch in the majors. He has a 5.29 ERA in 20 big league starts this season, and his first Triple-A outing didn’t go much better. Last year’s 2.82 ERA suggested real upside, but this season has looked far less convincing.
Wrobleski has also stumbled lately. He was an All-Star earlier this season, but his last three starts have been ugly: five earned runs in six innings, seven earned runs while failing to get through the fifth, and three earned runs in 3 and 1/3 innings. His 2024 and 2025 numbers haven’t exactly screamed breakout either, and this year’s 4.14 FIP compared with a 3.44 ERA points to some good fortune that could dry up.
Ryan still hasn’t thrown a pitch for Detroit because of a hamstring issue, so there’s no way to know yet what he’ll become. But with Sheehan and Wrobleski both scuffling, the Tigers don’t have much reason to feel like they missed out.
This trade will be picked apart for a long time, and the final verdict won’t come quickly. For now, though, Detroit has every reason to think it may have done just fine.
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