{"id":762829,"date":"2026-07-27T13:48:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/762829\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T13:48:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:48:24","slug":"mlb-trade-deadline-tarik-skubal-likely-isnt-in-dodgers-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/762829\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB trade deadline: Tarik Skubal likely isn’t in Dodgers’ plans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NEW YORK\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal<\/a> is one of the few players who could actually elevate the Dodgers<\/a>\u2019 roster at the trade deadline. And the Dodgers are one of the few teams that could reasonably part with the prospect capital it would take to acquire the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean it will come to fruition.<\/p>\n

With a week to go before the MLB trade deadline on Aug. 3, the Dodgers don\u2019t appear to be moving toward a trade for Skubal, according to people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly. And it\u2019s unclear whether the Tigers will indeed trade him; rival executives\u2019 expectations appear to be inconsistent.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers can never be fully counted out for a big swing, of course. They weren\u2019t expected to sign closer Edwin D\u00edaz<\/a> or right fielder Kyle Tucker<\/a> during the offseason, either.<\/p>\n

But having a strong farm system supplements big spending. And part of the reasoning behind those indulgent offseason moves was to make a big trade-deadline move unnecessary. So, barring a significant shift either in rotation health or in the market, don\u2019t count on Skubal joining the Dodgers in their quest for a three-peat.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers have shown a willingness in the past to give up top prospects for starting pitching when they see a need. Look no further than 2024, when they pursued then-White Sox ace Garrett Crochet before pivoting to a different Tigers starter, Jack Flaherty<\/a>, who they acquired for catcher Thayron Liranzo and shortstop Trey Sweeney \u2014 top-25 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.<\/p>\n

Between the Dodgers\u2019 position in the standings, and the amount of talent they expect coming off the injured list, however, they don\u2019t need to add Skubal to still be widely considered World Series favorites.<\/p>\n

Despite injuries to key players, the Dodgers (67-39) have the best record in the majors and a 12-game lead in the National League West entering Monday.<\/p>\n

The signings of D\u00edaz and Tucker haven\u2019t gone as the Dodgers pictured. Neither elevated the team in the first half. D\u00edaz was hurt for most of it, and Tucker has had an underwhelming offensive season.<\/p>\n

But when D\u00edaz (loose body elbow surgery) returns from the injured list \u2014 manager Dave Roberts<\/a> said the Dodgers plan to reinstate D\u00edaz on Wednesday \u2014 and if Tucker can break out offensively, as he showed signs of over the weekend, they could essentially function as major trade-deadline additions.<\/p>\n

The same goes for utility player Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a> and starting pitchers Blake Snell<\/a> and Tyler Glasnow<\/a>. Hern\u00e1ndez (strained left oblique) is expected to return from the IL on Tuesday. Snell (elbow surgery) is scheduled to make at least one more rehab start this coming week. And Glasnow (back spasms) is in the live batting practice phase of his build-up.<\/p>\n

\"Dodgers <\/p>\n

Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell puts on his cap before a game against the Atlanta Braves on May 9.<\/p>\n

(Caroline Brehman \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

So, off the IL alone, the Dodgers are expecting to add two well-established starters, a closer, and a versatile position player in the second half.<\/p>\n

\u201cNice trade deadline huh?\u201d Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman joked Sunday.<\/p>\n

Shohei Ohtani\u2019s lingering left knee problem<\/a>, which is holding him out of the rotation even after he received an Orthovisc injection to lubricate the joint going into the All-Star break, doesn\u2019t change the team\u2019s trade deadline calculus, according to people with knowledge of the matter not authorized to speak publicly.<\/p>\n

Roberts all but confirmed as much Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d Roberts said when asked if his view of the team\u2019s deadline pitching needs has changed. \u201cI really don\u2019t. We expect him to be pitching. … So I don\u2019t think that our approach to the deadline has changed given these last three weeks with Shohei.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dodgers\u2019 MLB-leading payroll (estimated by Roster Resource to be $397 million) draws a lot of attention. But their commitment to player development has helped extend their run of postseason success. The Mets (44-62), No. 2 in payroll ($366 million) are proof that big spending doesn\u2019t guarantee winning.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers will weigh the upside of adding someone such as Skubal \u2014 even better World Series odds, not having to face him in the postseason, etc. \u2014 against the blow to their young talent pool. Though the Dodgers do have an excess of prospect talent, especially in the outfield, the Tigers aren\u2019t going to settle for anything short of a robust return.<\/p>\n

If the Dodgers don\u2019t trade for Skubal, what will they do?<\/p>\n

Most likely, the Dodgers\u2019 deadline moves will be around the periphery. They approached last year\u2019s deadline similarly, when they traded for reliever Brock Stewart and outfielder Alex Call. This year, the Dodgers have even fewer obvious needs.<\/p>\n

To borrow a favorite buzz word of executives across baseball, they\u2019ll be opportunistic, as they look for ways to solidify the roster for the stretch run and into the playoffs. And if they see a way to upgrade their roster for future years without hurting their 2026 championship odds, they would be open to taking it, according to people with knowledge of the team\u2019s stance not authorized to speak publicly.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers\u2019 catching depth, with Will Smith still sidelined with a lingering neck injury, is the most obvious roster soft spot. But the Dodgers are comfortable with backup catcher Dalton Rushing taking the bulk of the innings until Smith returns.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s recent recovery progress, since shutting down baseball activities and receiving an injection to address the discomfort and inflammation, has been encouraging enough for the team to feel confident in his return.<\/p>\n

Still, the Dodgers could benefit from at least another third-string option at the physically and mentally demanding position.<\/p>\n

If this all sounds boring compared to adding Skubal to a rotation that\u2019s full of star power when healthy, that\u2019s by design. For perennial postseason contenders, a splashy offseason ideally sets up a low-key trade deadline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal is one of the few players who could actually elevate the Dodgers\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":762830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2386],"tags":[5,94392,147,53,2583,6389,39,41738,13113,4,3449,8633,3607,1830,94391,382,594,838,786,749],"class_list":["post-762829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-detroit-tigers","tag-baseball","tag-big-spending","tag-detroit","tag-detroit-tigers","tag-detroittigers","tag-diaz","tag-dodgers","tag-few-team","tag-knowledge","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-trade-deadline","tag-people","tag-return","tag-roster","tag-rotation-health","tag-tarik-skubal","tag-tigers","tag-tucker","tag-tyler-glasnow","tag-week"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116992259408274305","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=762829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/762830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=762829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=762829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=762829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}