Tarik Skubal trade grades: Dodgers load up, Tigers recoup young talent for Cy Young winner

Tarik Skubal trade grades: Dodgers load up, Tigers recoup young talent for Cy Young winner originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Once the Tigers filed an arbitration figure $13 million less than what Skubal filed, there was likely no avoiding this decision.

Faced with losing Skubal for nothing in free agency, a difficult start to the season ultimately cemented the inevitable and ended the two-time Cy Young Award winner’s time in Detroit.

After ignoring trade interest last offseason, the Tigers did manage to recoup some young talent for their ace by dealing him to the Dodgers well ahead of Monday’s deadline.

Here’s a look at how the Tigers and Dodgers did in what will certainly be this year’s biggest pre-deadline deal.

MORE:Full details of Dodgers’ trade for Tarik Skubal

Tarik Skubal trade grades

Dodgers grade: A

• Dodgers receive: SP Tarik Skubal

What is there for the Dodgers to lose? Money?

Losing Zyhir Hope when you have Josue De Paula and Mike Sirota coming up the pipeline, plus a glut of MLB outfielders as it is, is nothing. The Dodgers won’t miss Hope, even if he becomes the player they think he can be. They built their farm system in a way that guarantees it.

The Dodgers already had no room for River Ryan, who is approaching his 28th birthday, hasn’t been as effective in the minor leagues as he once was and couldn’t crack a loaded rotation. The same would have eventually been true for Brady Smith, who misses bats but has yet to put it all together in the minors and hasn’t yet reached double-A.

If the Brewers and other contenders weren’t willing to beat that, why wouldn’t the Dodgers say yes? The only way to knock the deal from L.A.’s perspective would be to say the roster was already headed for a championship with or without Skubal, but that’s not necessarily true in this sport.

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Tigers grade: C+

• Tigers receive: OF Zyhir Hope, P River Ryan, OF Mike Sirota

Let’s be clear: if Jesus Made and Theo Gillen were off the table in talks with the Brewers and Rays, respectively, it’s possible Hope was the best prospect the Tigers could have realistically landed for Skubal.

The former 11th-round pick has 23 home runs and an .899 OPS in double-A this season, though he was playing in a hitter-friendly environment that saw teammates De Paula and Sirota post an even higher OPS. Hope isn’t going to be playing in Detroit this season, but he could arrive at some point next year if he stays on his current trajectory.

If you’re a Tigers fan, though, you’d want a bit more to latch onto for such a dominant pitcher, regardless of his status as a rental. Smith has shown an excellent ability to miss bats at the lower levels of the minors, but he’s gotten hit hard and has an ERA in the upper 4s through a solid sample size of 30 starts.

Ryan is barely a prospect at all: he turns 28 later this month and missed all of 2025 following Tommy John Surgery. Ryan has been better since returning than his raw numbers indicate, as he’s pitching in an extremely hitter-friendly environment, but he recently suffered a hamstring injury to add a new layer of concern to his profile.

The Dodgers have an absolutely loaded farm system. It feels like the Tigers could have squeezed more out of it, especially with what’s about to be a 2.5-game deficit in the AL wild-card race that could have given Detroit the ability to at least pretend it might hold onto its ace.