Jeff Passan may have called Tarik Skubal the “best match” and “dream fit” for the Dodgers, but that doesn’t mean Detroit has any reason to make the deal.
On the surface, the fit is obvious. Los Angeles could plug Skubal into a rotation that already includes Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Blake Snell, and the whole thing would look even more overwhelming in October.
The Dodgers have the money, the prospects, and the appetite to chase another big swing. From their end, the idea makes plenty of sense.
The problem is that the Tigers are no longer in the same place they were when the deadline chatter started. Detroit has won seven of its last 10 games and is playing some of its best baseball of the season. That surge doesn’t turn the Tigers into a finished team, but it does make a Skubal trade a much tougher sell.
This is the part of the conversation that keeps getting glossed over: the Tigers are still within striking distance in a soft American League playoff race, and the AL Central hasn’t exactly been a powerhouse. In a year like this, a flawed club with a real ace can talk itself into October. Detroit at least has a case for believing that.
Skubal seems to understand the moment, too. Earlier this summer, he said the Tigers needed to “play better baseball or else” if they wanted to avoid a deadline rethink.
Since then, Detroit has responded, and his tone has changed along with it. He recently said he hopes the people making the decisions see “a very good team” and that the deadline should be about adding, not selling.
“We had some unlucky losses, beat ourselves up a bit, some injury stuff, including myself. Hopefully the decision-makers see that we’re a very good team and it’s not sell at the deadline - it’s add … I think we’re…”
That’s why a Skubal trade would land as something bigger than a baseball move. For Detroit, it would send a message to the clubhouse that even after a push back into the race, even after the ace himself has asked for belief, the front office still values future return over the chance to chase something now.
The Dodgers can make the case from every angle. Detroit can make one of its own.
And right now, the Tigers have more leverage than the trade rumors want to admit. They have the best player on the market, a fan base that wants the organization to act like a contender, and a roster that has given the front office fewer reasons to sell than it had just a few weeks ago.
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Dodgers Farm System Suddenly Has A Return And Bat Fans Can't Ignore
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There was more than one reason for Dodgers followers to keep an eye on the lower levels, too. Great Lakes and Ontario both took losses, but the individual performances still stood out, especially in Ontario where Easton Shelton added to his league-leading home run total. Between the batters heating up in Oklahoma and the steady stream of notable nights elsewhere, the system is offering plenty for the organization to track as the week rolls on. [Read more 🡒]