Milwaukee’s pursuit of Tarik Skubal didn’t end with a deal, but Pat Murphy made sure nobody walked away thinking the Brewers never really swung.
The Dodgers came out on top in the Tarik Skubal trade deadline sweepstakes, landing the Detroit Tigers’ star pitcher before the 2026 MLB trade deadline on Monday. But Murphy said the Brewers were firmly in the mix and pushed back hard on any suggestion that Milwaukee was merely watching from the sidelines.
“It isn’t as simple as, ‘That’s a better package.’ It’s not as simple as that,” Murphy told reporters on Monday, via Johnny Flores Jr. of The Athletic.
“There’s a lot more, a lot more layers to it. To say the Brewers didn’t try is simply incorrect.”
Murphy’s comments made clear the Brewers believed they were serious contenders for Skubal, even if the Tigers ultimately chose another destination. The two-time American League Cy Young Award winner wound up with the Dodgers, a club that, on paper, didn’t exactly seem like the one most in need of another frontline arm.
Milwaukee did come away from the deadline with pitching help of its own, just not on Skubal’s level. The Brewers added St. Louis Cardinals pitchers Dustin May and JoJo Romero, then picked up Colorado Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela in a separate move.
Now that the deadline has passed, Milwaukee turns to the roster it has in hand as it tries to finish the second half strong and make a deeper postseason push than it managed in 2025, when the Dodgers knocked the Brewers out of the National League Championship Series.
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