MLB trade grades: Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers?! Who won the deal? - ESPN

Tarik Skubal is a… Los Angeles Dodger?! Late Saturday night — two days before Monday's MLB trade deadline — the Dodgers were finalizing a trade for the Detroit Tigers' ace in exchange for three of their top-30 prospects. It felt shocking but also inevitable after the Tigers' July collapse left them looking to move Skubal. Multiple teams were in on the two-time American League Cy Young winner, but the Dodgers got the deal done. Who got the better end of the trade — and what does this mean for October? Bradford Doolittle breaks down both sides of the deal.

Los Angeles Dodgers get:
LHP Tarik Skubal

Detroit Tigers get:
OF Zyhir Hope
RHP River Ryan
RHP Brady Smith

Dodgers grade: A

Let's consider this from the Dodgers' overall big league level of talent, measuring the period from 2023 to the present. The Dodgers have the hitters ranked Nos. 2, 7, 15, 25, 30 and 33 by wins above average, per Baseball Reference. (That's Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Kyle Tucker, Max Muncy and Will Smith.) They have the relievers ranked Nos. 14, 28, 32 and 38 by ERA+. (Tanner Scott, Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia and Edwin Diaz.) Their rotation, also by ERA+, has Nos. 2, 4, 5, 7 and 24. (Skubal, Ohtani, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow.) It is very much an All-Star roster — stuffed with potential Hall of Famers who are all producing at a high level.

It's amazing, it's an abomination, and it has become a rallying cry for the owners in the CBA talks. And it's very bad news for anyone hoping to topple the Dodgers this October and prevent what now feels increasingly like an inevitable three-peat.

Skubal is the best pitcher in the sport, going to the best team in the sport, and the worst of it for non-Dodger fans is that