The Dodgers are acquiring left-hander Tarik Skubal from the Tigers, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Detroit will receive right-hander River Ryan, outfielder Zyhir Hope, and righty Brady Smith, adds Passan.
The biggest domino falls a bit more than 42 hours prior to this year’s August 3rd deadline. The two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner is joining the back-to-back champs in their quest for a three-peat.
Skubal’s pending free agency led to widespread speculation he’d be traded this summer. Detroit has remained on the periphery of the Wild Card race in a watered-down American League – 2.5 games back as of Saturday night – but ultimately decided to pull the trigger on a blockbuster deal.
Skubal joins a star-studded rotation that currently includes World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto and 2026 All-Star Justin Wrobleski. The group will soon add two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and former All-Star Tyler Glasnow. Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki are overqualified depth starters, to say the least. And that doesn’t even include Shohei Ohtani and his 1.79 ERA.
A Skubal trade seemed in jeopardy after the southpaw went down with an elbow injury in early May. Instead, the lefty became the first player to have surgery done with a NanoNeedle, which is less invasive and led to an expedited recovery timeline. Skubal started a rehab assignment about a month after going under the knife. He returned to the big leagues after missing fewer than six weeks of action.
After a somewhat limited workload in his first few starts back, Skubal worked deep into his final appearances in Detroit. He pitched beyond the sixth inning in each of his last three starts with the team. Skubal capped off his Tigers tenure with a quality start against the Orioles on Wednesday.
Skubal hasn’t been as dominant in 2026, but the standard is quite high. A 2.79 ERA with a 31% strikeout rate over 16 starts is clearly excellent. It’s a slight step back from his Cy Young campaigns, though the underlying metrics are actually better this year. Skubal’s 2.50 xFIP and 2.67 SIERA are the best marks of his career, though his 2.98 xERA is his worst since his career took a leap forward. He’s trimmed his already-low walk rate to a career-best 3.7%.
The 29-year-old Skubal set a record over the offseason when he was awarded $32MM after winning his arbitration case. The Dodgers will owe him about $10MM for the remaining portion of the season. It’s a considerable sum, but an amount the Dodgers will gladly add to their massive payroll. Skubal will be the most sought-after arm in free agency this winter. The trade doesn’t guarantee he’ll stay in Los Angeles after this season, but it doesn’t hurt. Skubal’s free agency will likely be impacted by the lockout MLB is widely expected to impose on December 1st.
In dealing one of the best pitchers of the decade, Detroit gets a top-100 prospect and a pair of intriguing arms. Hope is the centerpiece. MLB Pipeline ranked him fifth in the organization and 25th overall. Baseball America had the outfielder sixth in the Dodgers’ system and 55th overall. Hope has hit at every level of the minor leagues. The 21-year-old is slashing .293/.369/.530 at Double-A this season.
It’s the second time Hope has been involved in a trade in his brief pro career. After getting drafted by the Cubs in the 11th round in 2023, he was sent with lefty Jackson Ferris to the Dodgers for infielder Michael Busch and righty Yency Almonte in January 2024. Hope probably won’t debut this season, since he’s still just 21 and has yet to reach Triple-A. Once he’s ready, he’ll form an exciting outfield with three-time All-Star Riley Greene and newly-promoted top prospect Max Clark.
Hope is one of a stable of young outfield prospects in the Dodgers’ system. Josue De Paula tops the list, but Mike Sirota and Eduardo Quintero are also flourishing in the minors. All three remain in the organization for now. The Dodgers were also able to retain top pitching prospect Christian Zazueta.
Ryan burst onto the scene when he debuted with the Dodgers in 2024. The righty posted a 1.33 ERA across four starts after joining the club in late July. Right forearm tightness cut his season short in August. The injury ultimately required surgery that kept Ryan sidelined for all of 2025. Additional health concerns have limited him to eight starts at Triple-A this season.
The 27-year-old Ryan is a consensus top 10 prospect in L.A.’s system. Keeping him on the mound is the main concern. He’s totaled 233 innings as a pro since getting drafted in 2021. The upside is there if he can stay healthy. Ryan has pitched well at virtually every stop. This year’s 4.46 ERA with Oklahoma City isn’t ideal, but it comes with a 27.2% strikeout rate and a 5.1% walk rate. Ryan could be in a Tigers uniform before the 2026 campaign is done.
Smith is easily the furthest from the big leagues. The 2023 third-round pick missed all of his first pro season due to injury. He made it back last year and tossed 21 innings between the Complex league and Single-A. The 21-year-old Smith was recently bumped up to High-A. Baseball America had him just inside the top 30 in the Dodgers’ system. FanGraphs had him at No. 34 before the season. MLB Pipeline was the most aggressive, ranking Smith at No. 17.
