The Dodgers may be on the verge of landing the kind of arm that changes the whole conversation around October.
Los Angeles is close to acquiring Tigers ace Tarik Skubal in a three-player deal that would send right-hander Emmet Sheehan, Double-A outfielder Zyhir Hope and Class-A right-hander Brady Smith to Detroit, according to a source who spoke with The Athletic. The trade had not been officially announced, so the return could still shift or the talks could hit a snag late. But if it goes through as reported, the Dodgers will have added a two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner to a roster that already looks overloaded with talent.
Skubal has been every bit the ace this season. He is 7-5 with a 2.79 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP and 116 strikeouts across 96.2 innings.
In 16 starts, the 29-year-old left-hander has given up only 74 hits and 14 walks. He also finished July on a high note, piling up 18 strikeouts while allowing four earned runs over 14 innings against the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles.
That’s the profile Los Angeles is chasing: a power lefty who can sit at the front of a playoff rotation and miss bats when the margin gets thin.
And the Dodgers already have plenty of options. Adding Skubal would give Dave Roberts another true ace alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani, depending on health and availability once the postseason arrives.
In a short series, that kind of depth becomes a problem for everybody else. Roberts could line up Skubal and Yamamoto at the top and sort out the rest based on matchups, availability and who’s throwing best at the moment.
This wouldn’t be just extra insulation, either. Skubal has built himself into one of the most overpowering pitchers in baseball, winning back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards in 2024 and 2025. He also reached 1,000 career strikeouts in his most recent start, getting there faster than any left-handed pitcher since Randy Johnson.
There is some risk baked in. Skubal underwent a procedure earlier this season to remove loose bodies from his left elbow.
He came back, rejoined Detroit’s rotation and quickly found his dominant form again. For a Dodgers team chasing a third straight World Series title, though, the ceiling is obvious.
Detroit, meanwhile, would not be walking away empty-handed.
Sheehan gives the Tigers a pitcher who can help right away rather than a long-range project. The 26-year-old has already flashed the ability to be a useful major league starter, and he would remain under team control beyond the 2026 season.
Hope looks like the big swing in the prospect package. The 21-year-old outfielder entered the season as one of the top names in the Dodgers’ system, and FanGraphs ranked him as Los Angeles’ No. 2 prospect entering 2026, behind only fellow outfielder Josue De Paula. Hope brings power, athleticism and offensive upside, and his inclusion would let the Dodgers keep De Paula, who is widely viewed as the organization’s best prospect.
Smith would add another young arm for the Tigers to develop. He is farther away than Sheehan, but he would deepen a return built around one big-league-ready pitcher and one high-end position player prospect.
Detroit has to balance that haul against the possibility of keeping Skubal through a disappointing season and then losing him in free agency. He is earning an arbitration-record $32 million in 2026 and is set to hit the open market this offseason. With the Tigers below .500 and trailing in the AL Central, this is their last real chance to cash in.
The Dodgers are not the only team that had been tied to Skubal. The Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees and others were also connected to him. If Los Angeles finishes the job, it would do two things at once: add one of baseball’s best pitchers to its own rotation and keep him away from another contender.
That’s how the Dodgers operate. They already have Ohtani, Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and plenty more, yet they keep hunting for upgrades anyway. Skubal would be another massive statement, maybe the biggest one yet.
Nothing is final until the clubs make it official, but this has moved far beyond a casual check-in. If the deal gets done, the Dodgers will have landed the deadline’s biggest prize and built a postseason rotation that nobody will be eager to draw.
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Houston has emerged as one of the clubs watching closely because of its rotation injuries, and that need is hard to miss with the deadline approaching. For the Tigers, the question is whether holding onto Mize for a run at October is worth more than the kind of prospect package a contending club might be willing to put on the table, which is exactly the sort of call front offices hate making when the standings say one thing and the long view says another. [Read more 🡒]