The Dodgers may have come out of the Tarik Skubal chase with the left-hander in hand, but Milwaukee wasn’t sitting on the sidelines. Brewers manager Pat Murphy made that much clear after Los Angeles landed the ace in a deadline deal with Detroit.
“It isn’t as simple as, ‘That’s a better package.’ It’s not as simple as that,” Murphy told reporters.
“There’s a lot more, a lot more layers to it. To say the Brewers didn’t try is simply incorrect.”
On Saturday, the Dodgers closed the deal by sending outfield prospect Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitching prospects River Ryan and Brady Smith to the Tigers. Before that move was completed, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that the Brewers were among the teams in the mix for Skubal, along with the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves.
Milwaukee, a small-market club with an estimated payroll of $136.6 million, ranked 19th in MLB, according to Cot’s Contracts. Rosenthal reported the Brewers were willing to take on the rest of Skubal’s 2026 salary, which stands at $9.6 million.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, paid with premium talent from a farm system that’s widely regarded as one of the best in the game. Los Angeles sent two players from Keith Law’s Top 70 list, and manager Dave Roberts pointed to that level of cost when asked about the move.
“There’s nothing that we did that no one else couldn’t have done,” Roberts said Sunday.
Skubal echoed that sentiment in his first comments after the trade.
“Every team could trade for me,” Skubal said. “I don’t sympathize with people that blame the Dodgers for anything they’ve done. It’s a winning org.”
Murphy’s response pushed back on the idea that this was a simple matter of one club wanting it more than another. He also noted that Milwaukee’s history has generally leaned away from dealing major prospect capital the way clubs like the Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox often do. The exceptions stand out: the 2008 deadline move for CC Sabathia and the 2018 offseason trade for Christian Yelich.
Even without Skubal, the Brewers did make additions. On Monday, they matched up with the St.
Louis Cardinals for pitchers Dustin May and JoJo Romero and completed a separate trade with the Colorado Rockies for right-hander Antonio Senzatela. Earlier, Milwaukee also picked up catcher Bo Naylor and right-hander Codi Heuer from the Cleveland Guardians, though both were optioned to Triple A.
Across those moves, the Brewers never gave up any of their Top 20 prospects on Keith Law’s list. The return for May and Romero - Class-A outfielder Alexander Frías and Double-A outfielder Josiah Ragsdale - are viewed as top-30 prospects by other outlets, while lefty Mark Manfredi and shortstop Juan Martinez were not on any major lists.
As of Monday, Milwaukee sat at 69-42, holding MLB’s best record by a half-game over the Dodgers at 69-43. That position feels familiar. The Brewers finished last season with the league’s top mark before falling to Los Angeles in the National League Championship Series.
If the standings hold and both clubs keep rolling, another October meeting is right there waiting. It would be the third between the Brewers and Dodgers since 2018.
In Other News...
Pat Murphy Just Sent A Clear Message About Christian Yelich
Christian Yelichs uneven 2026 season has become one of the Brewers quieter lingering storylines, with the veteran still working through the aftereffects of an early injury and trying to find some offensive rhythm. Even so, he remains one of the most established voices in Milwaukees clubhouse, and the way the Brewers have handled his slump has reflected both his standing and the teams need to keep pushing for more production.
Pat Murphy has made it clear the Brewers are not treating Yelichs spot in the order as sacred, and the adjustment comes with the kind of practical edge that often follows a tough stretch. Yelich has reportedly taken the change professionally, which matters in a room that still leans on his example, but it also underscores how much Milwaukee wants a different result from a lineup that has not been getting enough from one of its most recognizable bats. [Read more 🡒]
Christian Yelichs Slump Just Forced A Brewers Lineup Change
Christian Yelich found himself in a different spot in the Brewers lineup for Mondays game against the Pirates, a shift that came after a rough stretch at the plate and in the middle of an offense that has had its own issues getting going. Pat Murphy made the move and addressed it with Yelich, a notable adjustment for one of the clubs most established hitters and a sign that Milwaukee is willing to tinker while it searches for more consistent production.
The change also added another layer of intrigue to a lineup that had already been in flux before first pitch, with the Brewers trying to piece together the best configuration around a slumping star. For Yelich, the move is less about one night than the broader picture of where his bat and the teams offense stand right now, and it leaves Milwaukee with a familiar question: how do you keep the lineup productive when one of its anchors is still searching for a reset? [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Pushed Hard For Tarik Skubal But Still Lost Out
The Brewers made a serious push to land Tarik Skubal, building an offer around three prospects in an effort to pry the left-hander away from Detroit. Milwaukee was aggressive enough to stay in the mix deep into the process, but the Tigers ultimately moved forward with the Dodgers instead, leaving the Brewers to watch a deal they believed they had a real chance to win go another way.
Pat Murphy and Matt Arnold both acknowledged the disappointment afterward, while also making clear that Milwaukee had done its part to chase a front-line arm. The club declined to get into the full details of the negotiations, which only adds to the sense that this was one of those trade talks where the framework was there, the urgency was real, and the final turn never quite came for the Brewers. [Read more 🡒]