For weeks, the Tarik Skubal chatter has made it feel like the Dodgers had their eye on one obvious prize. That made sense: Los Angeles has the money and the prospect cache to chase Detroit’s ace, and Skubal’s $32 million salary is the kind of number the Dodgers can absorb while still giving the Tigers the young, controllable talent they want back. But with Detroit clawing back into the edge of the AL playoff race, that path looks far less certain right now.
If Skubal stays put, the Dodgers still need help badly. Shohei Ohtani is giving up pitching for the foreseeable future, and Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell are both still convalescing on the IL. That leaves Los Angeles looking for a real rotation upgrade, and the next name worth circling may be Cincinnati Reds right-hander Hunter Greene.
The Reds are expected to sell at the deadline, even if the full extent of that sell-off isn’t clear yet. Jim Bowden of The Athletic reported that Greene is drawing buzz, though Cincinnati has not said it will actually make him available. And that’s the key tension here: the Reds don’t have to move him, but he may be their best trade chip.
Greene is also getting more expensive soon. He’s in the middle of a six-year, $53 million extension that pays him $8.3 million this season, then jumps to $15.3 million next year and $16.3 million in 2028.
The deal also includes a $21 million club option for 2029. For a small-market club like Cincinnati, those numbers matter.
The injury history is part of the equation too. Greene has never thrown more than 150⅓ innings in a season, and last year he was limited to a career-low 107⅔ innings. He also missed most of this season with the same elbow injury that sidelined Skubal and Snell this year.
Still, when Greene has been on the mound lately, the stuff has looked very much like ace material. He has made three starts since returning.
His first one, on July 4, went badly - eight earned runs in 3⅓ innings - but the next two were a different story. The best of the bunch came July 10 against the Chicago Cubs, when he fired seven shutout innings and struck out 12.
Greene posted a 2.75 ERA in 2024 and a 2.76 ERA in 2025, and that’s the kind of production that fits what the Dodgers are hunting. They’ve never been afraid to bet on talent with some injury baggage, and Greene’s arm talent might be the most electric of the available options. He can run his heater up to 100 miles per hour, and if Los Angeles decides to push its chips in, he could give the rotation a very different look for October at a price that’s easier to swallow than a Skubal deal.
In Other News...
Dodgers Make Concerning Will Smith Move Before Phillies Game
The Dodgers made a roster shuffle ahead of their matchup with the Phillies, optioning right-hander Landon Knack to Triple-A and bringing left-hander Charlie Barnes back onto the active roster. Barnes gives Los Angeles another multi-inning relief option, while the move also cleared the way on the 40-man roster as the club continues to manage its catching depth.
The more notable part of the transaction was the change involving Will Smith, who was moved to the 60-day injured list because of his lingering neck stiffness. Manager Dave Roberts has already been updating the situation, and the timeline points to a longer absence than the Dodgers would prefer, leaving the team to keep adjusting around one of its most important everyday players. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Face A Surprising Deadline Test As Injuries Keep Mounting
Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith being sidelined would normally send a team into a scramble, especially this time of year, but the Dodgers are not treating the injuries as a signal to abandon their broader plan. Multiple team sources say the front offices deadline approach has not changed, with the club still weighing depth and long-term value as much as any short-term fix.
Will Smiths absence has sharpened the conversation around catching, with Dalton Rushing stepping into the role, but the Dodgers do not appear bent on forcing a backup-catcher move just because the position is suddenly thinner. Instead, the bigger priority seems to be strengthening a farm system that already has top-end talent but could use more overall depth across the roster, a reminder that Los Angeles is still thinking well beyond the next week. [Read more 🡒]
Mookie Betts Just Put A Real End Date On His Career
Mookie Betts has already built a rsum that would define most careers, with four World Series rings and three of them coming in Los Angeles. Even with a slow start to this season and the lingering effects of an oblique injury that cost him time, the Dodgers star has still looked like the kind of player who can shape a lineup and a clubhouse, which is why his place in the franchises recent run feels so firmly established.
What makes the conversation more interesting now is the way Betts has started to frame the back end of his career. He is under contract through 2031, but he has also made it clear he wants to finish on his own terms, which adds a little more weight to every season left in Dodger blue. For a player who has spent so much of his career winning and setting the standard, the next chapter is starting to feel like it will be written on his schedule, not anyone elses. [Read more 🡒]