The Dodgers and Padres came out of the trade deadline with very different goals, and that difference says plenty about where the NL West stands right now.
Los Angeles landed Tarik Skubal, the best pitcher in baseball and the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner, in a move that only made an already terrifying roster look even more overloaded. San Diego couldn’t answer with anything close to that kind of headline-grabber, but A.J. Preller still made a push of his own, sending out a couple of top prospects to bring in Robbie Ray and Casey Mize for the rest of the season.
That leaves the same big question hanging over both teams: did the Padres actually close any ground, or did the Dodgers simply stretch the gap?
The Dodgers were never chasing a division race so much as stacking more power onto an already dominant machine. They’ve won the NL West 12 times in the past 13 years, so the bigger mission wasn’t about chasing a crown that’s basically already theirs.
Adding Skubal fits that mindset. Even with the injuries that have hit other parts of the staff, Los Angeles now has another elite arm to lean on.
There’s also the Kris Bubic factor. He’s a 2025 All-Star, but elbow and shoulder problems have kept him on the shelf for much of the year. If he comes back before the season ends and looks like himself, the Dodgers could be in position to throw out what amounts to two full starting rotations.
That’s a ridiculous amount of pitching depth, especially when you consider the names already in the mix: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Justin Wrobleski, and Roki Sasaki, plus injured pitchers Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, and Shohei Ohtani.
San Diego’s move was far more practical. The Padres weren’t trying to outmuscle the Dodgers’ blockbuster; they were trying to keep their own season from slipping away and give Michael King some help. Ray and Mize aren’t on Skubal’s level - hardly anyone is - but both are more dependable bets than Bubic at this point.
So while the Dodgers added the louder name, the Padres may have made the more grounded move. Los Angeles raised its ceiling, but San Diego tried to raise its floor.
And that’s what makes this deadline so interesting. The Dodgers may have acquired the best player involved, but they were already the stronger club. Skubal next to Yamamoto and Ohtani is an intimidating thought, though in the postseason it likely means someone like Snell or Glasnow gets pushed aside.
The Padres, by contrast, at least gave themselves something sturdier to work with. With King, Mize, Ray, and either Nick Pivetta or Joe Musgrove if one of them is healthy, they can now line up a rotation that gives them a real chance to hang around.
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Casey Mizes Padres Debut Raised The Concern Fans Feared Most
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For the Padres, the concern was bigger than one loss in a 10-4 final. Mizes ERA climbed from 2.70 to 3.40 after a difficult debut, and the way the game unraveled only sharpened the questions about what kind of impact he can make down the stretch. San Diego brought him in for help, but the early read was less about reinforcement than damage control, and the follow-up starts now carry even more weight. [Read more 🡒]