The newest member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tarik Skubal, gives his first reaction to his new home.
After the dust settled on the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline, sellers and buyers alike will have to adjust to their new rosters in hopes of securing a postseason berth.
The biggest splash, of course, came during the late hours of Saturday night. The Los Angeles Dodgers completed a blockbuster deal with the Detroit Tigers to acquire two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal in exchange for outfield prospect Zyhir Hope and a righty pitching duo of River Ryan and Brady Smith.
With immediate blowback from spectators calling for the Dodgers' head on the ideology that "Baseball is Ruined" following yet another meter-ticking move — a sentiment that Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman does not agree with, per his press conference on Sunday — Skubal will now don Dodger blue regardless.
Skubal agreed with his new higher-up in his first chat with the media on Monday.
"Every team could trade for me. I don’t sympathize with people that blame the Dodgers for anything they’ve done," Skubal said via Jack Harris of The California Post. "It’s a winning org…I really don’t sympathize with people that are complaining because the Dodgers do all the right things."
Yes, that is true. Many teams could have traded for Skubal, taking into consideration the Dodgers' final package, but Friedman was adamant during Sunday's pre-game presser with the media that he was aggressive in trade negotiations.
"I felt like we were being really aggressive. We put some really talented players on the table, so I felt like that it was a really good chance," Friedman said.
With everything now set in stone, Skubal had the chance to address and break down the moments leading up to and after the rotund trade.
"There's a lot of emotion, right? I spent eight years with the Detroit Tigers, and that place will always be special to me no matter what. But in the same breath, I'm excited to be here," Skubal said.
"I'm excited to compete with these guys. When you watch them from across the way, or just see them, you know, do their thing on TV, you just have a lot of respect because they play the game the right way.
"The entire focus of this organization is on winning championships, and that's my entire focus of playing baseball. So we're very much aligned. I'm ready to go out there and compete and give this organization and city everything that I've got."
For the caliber and skill of Skubal, it would be common practice for front offices to communicate likely trade destinations in the event of trade talks heating up.
Tigers' president of baseball operations Scott Harris did not engage in conversation of the sort, according to the 29-year-old southpaw via David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports.
Alas, Skubal now looks ahead to being yet another key piece for an organization that is trying to accomplish history. Skubal is expected to make his Dodgers' debut on the mound on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs.
