LOS ANGELES -- For as much as they might have downplayed the possibility behind closed doors, the Los Angeles Dodgers were long seen by rival executives as overwhelming favorites to land generational ace Tarik Skubal. Their farm system was too good, their goals were too lofty, their rotation had become too uncertain.
On Saturday night, a day and a half before the trade deadline, they pulled it off.
The Dodgers acquired Skubal, the reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner, from the Detroit Tigers for a package of three prospects: outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith.
Skubal, a 29-year-old pending free agent, will now headline what was arguably already the best rotation in the sport. Alongside him will be Yoshinobu Yamamoto, making a strong case for a Cy Young of his own, followed by Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow, all of whom are in varying stages of returning to the mound from injury.
A source told ESPN's Jesse Rogers that Skubal is set to make his Dodgers debut Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
The Dodgers had long touted their depth as a reason they didn't need Skubal. Snell, who has made one start this season, is expected to rejoin the rotation after his next rehab outing. Glasnow, out since May 6 because of back spasms, will begin a minor league rehab assignment next week. And though Ohtani is still troubled by a sore left knee that seems to bother him only on the mound, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said earlier this week that he fully expects him to pitch in October.
The Game 1 starter, though, will be Skubal, who might be the best pitcher in the world.
Skubal boasts a 2.79 ERA in 16 starts this year, striking out 116 batters and issuing 14 walks in 96⅔ innings. The only thing that could stop him were bone chips that began to irritate his left elbow in late April. Skubal underwent a less-invasive, revolutionary NanoScope procedure and returned in about six weeks. His ERA in July was 2.03.
As he addressed the media in the visiting clubhouse at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, California, late Saturday night, moments after being informed of the trade, Skubal at one point got choked up.
"Going into the season, this isn't what I planned on doing," Skubal said before being on the verge of tears while reflecting on his time in Detroit. "But circumstances change, situations change. I'm very appreciative of everything that the Tigers have done for me."
A late bloomer who lasted until the ninth round of the 2018 draft, Skubal began to emerge as one of the game's most talented pitchers in 2022 and 2023, and he took it to another level thereafter. From 2024 to 2025, Skubal went 31-10 with a 2.30 ERA and a whopping 469 strikeouts in 387⅓ innings. His 12.6 FanGraphs wins above replacement led all major league pitchers.
When Skubal and members of the Tigers' front office exchanged arbitration figures in the ensuing offseason, the two sides were $13 million apart. An independent arbitrator ruled in favor of Skubal and his agent, Scott Boras, rewarding Skubal with a $32 million salary as he headed into his free agent year.
Rumors had swirled throughout the offseason that the Tigers would trade him then. Instead, they doubled down, signing fellow starter Framber Valdez to a three-year, $115 million contract with the hope of winning the AL Central. Instead, the Tigers flopped. By the end of May, they were tied with the Colorado Rockies for the worst record in the majors, prompting executives throughout the industry to assume Skubal would be traded.
The Tigers proceeded to win 28 of their next 46 games, and suddenly it seemed as if Skubal might stay. But their momentum ran out. The Tigers lost back-to-back games to the last-place Kansas City Royals last weekend and dropped two of three to the Baltimore Orioles thereafter. During the last of those losses, Wednesday night, Skubal took the mound and recorded his 1,000th career strikeout then sat in the dugout while his team blew a 7-0 lead.
After it was over, the Tigers were seven games below .500, six games out of first place and three games out of a wild-card spot.
To many observing Skubal's availability, it was a death knell to his time in Detroit.
The Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays were all in on Skubal to some extent, with the Brewers, deep in prospects, the favorites among that group. But the Dodgers were the clear front-runners all along. And now they will add Skubal to a laundry list of talent they have acquired over the years, following Ohtani, Snell, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and, this offseason, Edwin Diaz and Kyle Tucker.
The vast majority of those players came via free agency. The Dodgers loathe the high asking prices at midseason. But in getting Skubal, they parted from an outfield group that is stocked with talent -- one that is still headlined by Josue DePaula, a consensus top-25 prospect, along with Eduardo Quintero, ranked 45th on Kiley McDaniel's latest ESPN rankings. They also maintain all of their young major league starting pitching, namely Justin Wrobleski, Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki.
In Hope and Ryan, though, the Tigers came away with two top-50 prospects.
Hope, 21, was slashing .293/.369/.530 with 23 home runs and 18 stolen bases for the Dodgers' Double-A affiliate. He brings explosive power from the left side, top-tier speed and an ability to handle center field.
Ryan, 27, made a brief stint in the major leagues in 2024, putting up a 1.33 ERA in four starts. He then underwent a prolonged rehab from Tommy John surgery and has made eight starts in Triple-A, putting up a 4.46 ERA. He has been out since the middle of June because of a hamstring injury, but McDaniel ranked him 49th in his midseason top 50 in May.
Smith, 21, was a third-round pick out of high school in 2023 who has put up a 3.88 ERA in 19 starts at the Class-A level this season.
In three months, Skubal will head to the open market with a chance to sign the most lucrative deal ever given to a starting pitcher. Before then, he will join a Dodgers club that boasts the highest run differential and second-best record in the major leagues and help Los Angeles try to become the first team in NL history to win three consecutive World Series titles.
Asked his thoughts about joining the Dodgers, Skubal took about 15 seconds to compose himself before saying: "Yeah, it's exciting. I'm excited. They've got a good group."