Dodgers-Skubal buzz hinges on Tigers’ July surge
ESPN reports Detroit’s improved form could keep Tarik Skubal off the market, with the Dodgers looming if the Tigers slip before the deadline.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Tarik Skubal’s trade-deadline drama has a new twist: the Detroit Tigers have started winning enough to make a deal far less certain, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
Gonzalez reported that rival executives increasingly believe Detroit will keep Skubal past the Aug. 3 deadline if the club continues its push. The Tigers, ESPN noted, won 10 of their first 14 games in July and were 25-15 since the start of June after taking two of three from the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend.
That run still left Detroit six games under .500, according to ESPN, but the club was 4½ games out of an American League wild-card spot with five teams ahead of it. That is the squeeze: Skubal could stay if the Tigers keep charging, or become available if they stumble.
If Detroit does listen, Gonzalez wrote that the Los Angeles Dodgers would draw attention. Skubal is described by ESPN as the reigning back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner and one of the rare pitchers capable of changing a sport’s balance at midseason.
Why Los Angeles may stand down
The Dodgers’ strongest case against a blockbuster, per ESPN’s analysis, starts with their rotation. Los Angeles already has Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow lined up as a potential October group.
ESPN reported those four combined for a 10-4 record and a 2.55 ERA while covering 113 of the Dodgers’ 165 playoff innings last year. All four also pitched in Game 7 of the World Series, according to Gonzalez.
Health is the catch. ESPN reported Snell has missed nearly the entire season with shoulder trouble and later had loose bodies removed from his pitching elbow, though he made his first rehab start over the weekend and is expected back early next month. Glasnow has been out since early May because of lower back spasms, but is throwing off a mound and is expected back before the end of August.
Ohtani was shut down from pitching indefinitely Sunday because of what ESPN described as the effects of a balky left knee, though the expectation in the report is that he will pitch again eventually.
The Dodgers also have depth beyond that group. Gonzalez pointed to Justin Wrobleski’s 2.69 ERA over his first 100⅓ innings and five strikeouts in the All-Star Game, plus Roki Sasaki reaching 102 mph at Yankee Stadium. ESPN also reported the bullpen should be in better shape than it was entering last postseason.
The prospect problem
Gonzalez wrote that the Dodgers have made major deadline swings under Andrew Friedman, including Yu Darvish in 2017, Manny Machado in 2018, and Max Scherzer and Trea Turner in 2021. ESPN also noted that the franchise has lost future talent in summer deals, including Yordan Álvarez, Oneil Cruz and Miguel Vargas.
The Dodgers prefer solving problems with money, according to ESPN’s analysis. Gonzalez noted that many recent star additions, including Ohtani, Yamamoto, Snell, Teoscar Hernández, Tanner Scott, Sasaki, Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz, came through free agency.
Owner Mark Walter has made clear since the Ohtani signing that he is willing to spend to chase championships, Gonzalez reported. Giving up top prospects is framed as the harder sell.
Friedman’s broader approach also points to caution. ESPN cited his winter meetings comments about trying to maximize the current championship window while keeping later seasons open. That tension could decide whether Skubal becomes a Dodger, if Detroit ever lets the conversation get that far.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.