By acquiring a generational ace for a controversial prospect package, the Los Angeles Dodgers left industry insiders questioning the Detroit Tigers' underwhelming return.
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes, and it's a trade that could go down in history.
The Detroit Tigers knew they needed to capitalize on Skubal's value while they still could as there was absolutely no reason that they'd be able to keep him around after the 2026 season.
With a few teams in the mix, the Dodgers' offer of Zyhir Hope, River Ryan, and Brady Smith was enough to get the job done.
There are extremely high hopes for Hope, pun intended, and Ryan is a pitcher who's been big-league ready for quite some time. There's simply no room for him in this Dodgers' rotation.
As for Smith, he's outside the MLB top 100 prospect list, and he hasn't won any of his 21 starts this year. Sure, he has a high strikeout rate, but it's a bit odd that the Tigers would settle on Ryan and Smith when they wanted the Milwaukee Brewers to give up Logan Henderson.
Jon Heyman offers additional insight
“'They got bupkis.' — one rival exec on Tigers’ return for 2-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal," New York Post's Jon Heyman wrote on Sunday morning after the trade.
He added, "Baseball people do like OF Zyhir Hope who’s seen as a future multiple MLB All-Star, but some say the package is light for Skubal 'a top two player in baseball. One rival says if that’s the deal, call around and ask anyone to beat it. 'That’s a deal you can do Monday morning.'"
When responding to Baseball Trade Values, Heyman believes that the Tigers are solely going to have to rely on Hope to make this return worth it. Ryan, who's never pitched in the big leagues, is nearing 30 years old and has "rarely gone past the 5th inning."
If that's not bad enough, Ryan has a track record of getting injured, so one can only imagine what something like that could do to the Tigers' long-term future.
Dodgers won this trade with ease
What most don't understand is the Dodgers didn't necessarily need Skubal that much themselves; it was more about not letting any other team have them.
When focusing on their competition, the Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays, those could be the last two teams they have to face this season. A National League Championship Series rematch with the Brewers seems likely, and there's a strong chance the Rays could make it out of an extremely weak American League this season and compete for a World Series.
At the end of the day, the Dodgers won this trade by a landslide, and rival executives would agree in a heartbeat.
