08/02/26 10:23:00
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08/02 22:21 CDT Dodgers reinforce status as baseball's dominant power and
public enemy No. 1 with Tarik Skubal trade
Dodgers reinforce status as baseball's dominant power and public enemy No. 1
with Tarik Skubal trade
By DAN GREENSPAN
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Tarik Skubal was the one player the Los Angeles Dodgers
believed worthy of aggressively pursuing ahead of Monday's trade deadline.
By landing the reigning two-time American League Cy Young winner with time to
spare and without sacrificing their pursuit of a third straight World Series
title, they reinforced their status as both baseball's dominant power and
public enemy No. 1.
"It just seems like there's always blowback with us," Dodgers manager Dave
Roberts said Sunday. "People are passionate. We feel good about it. There's
nothing that we did that no one else couldn't have done."
In the near term, Skubal's arrival gives the Dodgers another powerful arm to an
already loaded rotation responsible for the lowest WHIP and batting average in
the majors. He is scheduled to make his debut on Tuesday at the Chicago Cubs,
having gone 7-5 with a 2.79 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 96 2/3 innings over 16
starts for the Detroit Tigers this season.
"We got better," reliever Edwin Daz said "We got, like I said, one of the best
pitchers in the league, and now we have him as a teammate, so that's a really
good plus for us."
Having Skubal can allow the Dodgers to be cautious with Shohei Ohtani as he
recovers from left knee soreness and a right biceps injury that have kept the
two-way superstar from pitching since July 3. Ohtani will resume playing catch
sometime during the three-game series against the Cubs, Roberts said, and the
Dodgers remain optimistic he will be able to return to the mound this season.
"You can never predict the future, but if you said, ?Hey, place a bet on it,' I
would be very confident placing it that he will be back pitching," president of
baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.
In the medium term, Skubal's presence further strengthens the Dodgers' already
impressive credentials as they push to become the first National League team to
three-peat. If healthy, they will be able to choose from an elite group of
starters, many with proven playoff success such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake
Snell.
Skubal brings his own track record, having gone 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA in six
playoff starts over the past two postseasons. Friedman described his efforts
last fall as "must-see TV.
"I was in awe watching the energy, the dominance he exhibited there, and I
can't wait to see it in Dodger blue," Friedman said.
Not only did the acquisition further boost their own rotation, it should allow
the Dodgers to move other starters into the bullpen, something they did to
great effect during the 2025 title run.
"We're not going to be flippant about this moment in time and how special this
group, this era can be in the history of this incredibly storied organization,
and we're going to do everything we can to win the last game of the year,"
Friedman said.
In the long term, the Dodgers' trade for Skubal represents one more salvo in
the looming battle over baseball's finances and competitive balance.
Los Angeles made the trade without giving up any of its most touted prospects
in what is regarded among MLB's top farm systems, which has been a frequent
pattern during this run of three titles over the previous six seasons. Those
assets have allowed them to consistently upgrade through trades without needing
to send established major league contributors back the other way.
Roberts credited the organization's ability to find and develop talent as being
just as important to the Dodgers' recent success as much as their deep
pocketbooks have allowed them to sign the likes of Ohtani to massive contracts.
"I just laud our front office," Roberts said. "We have to have the players to
be able to pull something like this off."
As long as the current system is in place, the Dodgers will not apologize for
their interest to acquire the best players available through whatever means are
accessible to them.
"But as we've talked about a lot, whenever there's a star-level player that is
available that can really shift championship odds, those are the moments that
we'll be more aggressive," Friedman said.
Skubal was with the Dodgers in the dugout during a 8-4 loss to the Boston Red
Sox on Sunday night. The team also posted pictures of his new Dodgers' No. 29
jersey and locker and video of Skubal meeting his new teammates on social media.
"Just knowing he's in Dodger blue, it's pretty surreal," Roberts said after the
game. "I don't think I've felt this good after getting swept, so that's a
silver lining."
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
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