Tigers trade Tarik Skubal to Dodgers for big-hitting outfield prospect

Christian Romo, Detroit Free PressSun, August 2, 2026 at 3:47 AM UTC

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MLB's biggest trade target will be wearing a new cap for the rest of the 2026 season.

The Detroit Tigers reportedly traded ace pitcher Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, Aug. 1, a little under 48 hours before the MLB trade deadline.

MLB.com's Mark Feinrand was the first to report the deal, and also reported Saturday night that Dodgers prospect Zyhir Hope, the franchise's No. 5 prospect, was part of the package headed to the Tigers. It's unknown what other players will be included in the deal. Also part of the deal: minor-league right-hander River Ryan and minor-league right-hander Brady Smith, the Dodgers' No. 7 and No. 17 prospects, per MLB Pipeline.

The Dodgers scratched Hope and Kendall George, their star outfield prospects, on Saturday from their games with Double-A Tulsa. George does not appear to be part of the Skubal deal.

AT THE DEADLINE: Tarik Skubal MLB trade deadline rumors: Latest news from around the league

Hope is ranked as MLB’s No. 25 prospect by MLB Pipeline; the 21-year-old, an 11th-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs, entered Saturday hitting .293 with 23 homers and an .899 OPS with the Drillers. The left-handed hitter also has 18 steals in 21 attempts this season.

Ryan could contribute to the Tigers' rotation right away: An 11th-round pick out of UNC-Pembroke, the 27-year-old has a 1.33 ERA in four MLB appearances back in the 2024 season. But he missed the entire 2025 season after Tommy John surgery. With Triple-A Oklahoma City, Ryan has a 4.46 ERA with 43 strikeouts and eight walks in 36⅓ innings this season.

Smith is a much younger prospect, selected in the third round of the 2023 MLB Draft – the same draft that produced Tigers rookies Max Clark (No. 3 overall) and Kevin McGonigle (No. 37). The No. 95 pick signed with the Dodgers out of high school in Tennessee. He had already made it to Michigan, even before the trade, having been promoted to the Dodgers' High-A team in Midland, the Great Lakes Loons, late in July. Smith has struggled in two starts with the Loons, posting a 7.71 ERA with nine strikeouts and three walks in 9⅓ innings over two starts. But with Class-A Ontario, Smith posted a 3.88 ERA with 104 strikeouts and 27 walks in 65 innings in the California League.

Skubal, the 29-year-old reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner, was the most talked-about-player in the sport in the offseason and ahead of the 2026 trade deadline due to his pending free agency and the impending MLB lockout this winter.

Skubal's final start as a Tiger on Wednesday, July 29, against the Baltimore Orioles was a perfect encapsulation of the 2026 Tigers.

Skubal was dominant through six as the Tigers built a 7-0 lead. He was chased with two outs in the seventh and one run in, receiving a standing ovation from the Comerica Park crowd. But the good times quickly faded, after reliever Kyle Finnegan failed to get the final out in a five-run inning. (Skubal was charged with three runs in 6⅔ innings on four hits with one walk and six strikeouts.)

The Orioles scored two more runs in the eighth off the bullpen to tie the game, eventually winning 10-9 in 12 innings and concluding an ugly 3-4 homestand against bad teams.

The Tigers (52-58) are 3½ games out of a playoff spot in the American League, and have an AL-worst 25 blown saves. Only the Washington Nationals have more.

Skubal said on July 23 he preferred to stay with the Tigers and thought they could win the World Series. But continued mediocre play made the Tigers' decision more clear, including four losses in five games to end the homestand.

Tarik Skubal stats, injury

After consecutive award-winning seasons, Skubal experienced a setback in 2026, undergoing arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone chip in his left elbow on May 6. A relatively new NanoNeedle 2.0 procedure significantly cut down Skubal's recovery time, however, allowing the lefty to cut the typical 2-4 month recovery period nearly in half.

In 16 starts and 96⅔ innings in 2026, Skubal is 7-5 with a 2.79 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 74 hits and 116 strikeouts to 14 walks.

Though Skubal has pitched well since his return, he didn't immediately look as dominant as he did in the previous two seasons, putting up a 3.62 ERA over 32⅓ innings pitched in six starts between his return on June 13 and the All-Star break.

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Skubal looked more like himself in three starts after the break, pitching a seven-inning shutout against the Los Angeles Angels, a one-run, 12K performance over 7⅓ innings against Kansas City before the Baltimore game.

Tigers flunk after big offseason

The Tigers entered the 2026 season prepared to contend for a pennant chase after signing lefty Framber Valdez to a nine-figure deal and bringing back franchise legend Justin Verlander on a one-year deal. Those plans hit a speed bump early on, however, with the Tigers going 6-22 in May and at one point falling 16 games below .500.

And with the Tigers now a long shot to make the postseason, and with Skubal and agent Scott Boras looking for a mega deal once he hits free agency after the 2026 season, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris and owner Chris Ilitch decided to finally make the deal after holding off as long as possible.

Tarik Skubal trade timeline

There has been speculation of the Tigers eventually trading Skubal for much of the past three seasons, but the talk became more legitimate between the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

Entering his final year of team control, Skubal was projected to command the biggest contract ever awarded to a pitcher once he hit free agency after the 2026 season. A long-term deal of at least $400 million didn't seem out of the question, and that figure only grew larger after a historic arbitration ruling.

Skubal won an arbitration case with the Tigers ahead of the 2026 and was awarded a record $32 million salary for his final year of team control. The case exemplified Skubal's value to the Tigers, even if the team didn't publicly state its willingness to offer Skubal a contract extension commensurate with his talent and production.

And with the Tigers unwilling to deal Skubal before the season started, it left the team in somewhat of a limbo – seemingly indifferent to losing Skubal at the end of the 2026 without a trade package or a deep playoff run to show for it. However, attitudes around the Tigers changed after the Valdez signing, signaling the organization's intent to compete with Skubal at the top of the rotation for at least one more year.

But then the bottom dropped out on a once-promising season.

The Tigers placed Skubal on the injured list on May 4, and his absence throughout all of May coincided with the team's worst month in years, with a 6-22 May record at one point dropping Detroit to last place in the AL Wild Card standings. The Tigers played much better after Skubal's return, however, going 15-11 in June and 7-3 in July before the All-Star break despite Skubal himself sporting a 2-3 record in six starts from his return to the break.

Though Skubal didn't say much about trade speculation over his last few weeks playing for the Tigers, he did make his position clear on what the team should do at the deadline, imploring the team to add big-league talent instead of sell for future assets.

But the front office did not comply with that request.

Had the Tigers not traded Skubal, they would have extended a one-year qualifying offer after the season, which Skubal would have rejected in favor of seeking a record-breaking free-agent deal. The Tigers would have been free to sign Skubal to a contract, but if he signed elsewhere, the Tigers would have received a compensation pick in the 2027 MLB Draft.

Instead of risking that loss, the Tigers chose to trade for a more valuable package.

Skubal, a ninth-round pick in 2018 out of Seattle University – the only Division I baseball program to offer Skubal a scholarship – debuted for the Tigers in 2020.

Now, Tigers fans must make peace seeing the player most responsible for the club's resurgence after a nine-year postseason in a different team's uniform for the foreseeable future.

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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers trade Tarik Skubal to Dodgers for big-hitting outfield prospect

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