liveUpdated 10m agoFollow our live coverage as we build up to Major League Baseball’s trade deadline at 6 p.m. ET on Monday.The Athletic Live Team August 2, 2026 at 8:30 AM EDTTarik Skubal has been traded from Detroit to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Getty ImagesSubscribe to The Athletic The AthleticThe MLB trade deadline is Monday as the league’s teams prepare for the stretch run.The NFL preseason is rolling along, and the college football and Premier League seasons are also closing in. We will have all that and more covered at The Athletic. Get your subscription here to make sure you can read all of our terrific coverage.Trade deadline detailsThe trade deadline is a few days later than usual this year. It typically happens around July 31, but this year, trade season is extended through the weekend so that the trade deadline itself isn’t until 6 p.m. ET on Monday.Welcome back to our live coverage!Hello, baseball fans. Welcome back to our live coverage of the Major League Baseball trade deadline.The big move was made last night as the Dodgers traded for Tarik Skubal a little before midnight ET. We'll see if that picks up the pace before we get to tomorrow's deadline.So stick with us at The Athletic as we break down every move.Grading the trade: Dodgers-Tigers USA Today Network The big swing of the trade season has connected, and of course, it was the Dodgers that got the deal done. So let's see how it grades out:Dodgers get: LHP Tarik SkubalTigers get: OF Zyhir Hope, RHP River Ryan and RHP Brady SmithOur Stephen J. Nesbitt, Tim Britton and Zack Meisel share their thoughts and grade the trade here.Dodgers in their own tier USA Today Network For five days and most of a sixth, The Athletic’s Ambition Index was tapping its toes like Sonic the Hedgehog, waiting to see some ambition.But then the trade deadline moved from DIY shopping at Dollar General to higher-end boutiques. The Dodgers added Tarik Skubal.That means it’s time to revise our ranking of each team’s ambitions for the 2026 season, as revealed in its trade deadline activity. Because you must always remember one lesson from Sonic: You have to do something to get those rings.For all the hand-wringing about the Los Angeles Dodgers ruining baseball ahead of an expected lockout this offseason, consider this:In 2024, the Dodgers were down 2-1 to the Padres in the NLDS before San Diego went down futilely during its last 24 innings, going scoreless against a cadre of overworked relievers. In 2025, the Dodgers were down 3-2 to the Blue Jays in the World Series before rallying for two wins, including an 11-inning thriller in Game 7 on the road. October baseball can be unpredictable, and the Dodgers know this all too well. So does landing Tarik Skubal mean a third consecutive World Series is a foregone conclusion? Not in the least.What does history tell us? USA Today Network In going from Detroit to Los Angeles, Tarik Skubal becomes the sixth reigning Cy Young Award winner to be dealt midseason.The full list: Justin Verlander (Mets to Astros, 2023), Cliff Lee (Indians to Phillies, 2009), CC Sabathia (Indians to Brewers, 2008), David Cone (Blue Jays to Yankees, 1995) and Frank Viola (Twins to Mets, 1989)Did any of those clubs win the World Series after acquiring an ace at the deadline? Nope.Verlander's Astros were bounced in the ALCS by the future champion Texas Rangers. In two games, Verlander posted a 4.38 ERA.Lee and the Phillies made it to the World Series, only to be bested by the New York Yankees. The southpaw carded a 2.81 ERA in his two starts.Sabathia helped will the Brewers to their first postseason appearance since 1982, but Milwaukee flamed out in the NLDS. Sabathia, who made 17 starts down the stretch for Milwaukee, including seven complete games, lasted all of 3 2/3 innings in his one start, having allowed five runs in a loss.Cone and the Yankees fell to the Mariners in a five-game ALDS, with the future commentator pitching in two games (4.60 ERA, 15 2/3 innings).The 1989 Mets did not make the postseason, though that was still when only four teams competed for the World Series.Whether Skubal will become the first reigning Cy Young winner to lead their new team to the World Series is yet to be seen. History, though, isn't on his side.What makes Skubal so good? USA Today Network What has made Tarik Skubal so dangerous? Let's look back to 2023 and what was called Changeup School.We will let Cody Stavenhagen take it from there.Ryan oft-injured but has stuff of aceYes, he's had trouble staying healthy, topping out at 104 1/3 innings in 2023 before putting together only 81 combined innings in the two seasons since. But what River Ryan has shown on the mound when he's been there has been tantalizing.Right now, among starters that have thrown at least 500 pitches in Triple-A, he has the third-best Stuff+ on the back of a high-90s fastball with good ride and two power breaking balls that have proven to be able to get whiffs off of major leaguers. Even against lefties, his two breaking balls, changeup, fastball and cutter all rate as above-average pitches by Stuff+, which judges pitches by their physical characteristics.Pitching is more than raw stuff, of course, but the size of his arsenal — he throws five pitches to lefties and righties regularly— bodes well for his future. If there is one question beyond his ability to stay healthy (a hamstring has been the issue this year after Tommy John surgery last year), it's his command. A five percent walk rate and command model numbers suggest that he's got what it takes there, too.There's always risk with young pitchers, but Ryan checks all of the boxes.Tigers' rotation without Skubal Imagn ImagesThe Detroit Tigers have traded their ace. So, does that mean they’ve conceded their season? Granted, the Tigers have significantly underperformed expectations, but the American League Central is notoriously weak, and their rotation is still viable with offseason addition Framber Valdez and another potential trade chip, Casey Mize, at the top. The Tigers could also get some key starting pitchers off the injured list later this season, and addition River Ryan could step into the rotation more or less immediately.This is the state of the Tigers’ rotation without Skubal.Framber Valdez, LHPCasey Mize, RHPRiver Ryan, RHPTroy Melton, RHPKeider Montero, RHPJackson Jobe, one of the most promising young pitchers in baseball, has also begun a rehab assignment and could return from Tommy John surgery in August. There’s also a possibility that future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander could come off the IL to make some starts in the last two months.What happened to Tigers? USA Today Network After almost a decade of limited relevance, the Tigers made the playoffs the past two years and entered this season as the favorites to win the American League Central. On Opening Day, FanGraphs gave them a 60.2 percent chance of making the playoffs and a 4 percent chance of winning the World Series, the fourth-best World Series odds in the American League.But with Tarik Skubal on the IL, the Tigers went 6-22 in the month of May, recalling a rival executive’s offseason assessment of the team: “That roster is not going to be good enough to make the playoffs, let alone go anywhere further than that, without Tarik Skubal.”A good June and solid start to July momentarily put any thoughts of selling on hold, but the team is now six games out of first place in the AL Central and three games out of the wild-card race.The rotation, even without Skubal for a long stretch, has been solid, but the Tigers’ bullpen has been underwhelming and the lineup has been roughly league average by wRC+. Riley Green, Dillon Dingler and rookie Kevin McGonigle were deserving All-Stars, but much of the lineup has been below-average or even below replacement level.Now that Skubal is gone, the Tigers could continue to sell — Casey Mize and Gleyber Torres are heading for free agency, Kenley Jansen has a club option for next year — but they could also try to claw back into the playoff race with River Ryan (acquired in the Skubal trade) and Jackson Jobe (currently on a rehab assignment) as potential rotation boosts down the stretch. Neither is likely to really replace Skubal, but the AL is a mess and the AL Central is hardly the sport’s most demanding division.State of Big Board: Two down, 58 to go USA Today Network Remarkably, Tarik Skubal was very nearly the first player from our final Big Board to be traded. Skubal is, of course, No. 1 on the final version of the Big Board, and he was dealt not long after No. 49 Luis Castillo was traded to the Chicago White Sox. The trade deadline is basically a day and a half away, and every other Big Board player is still available.Dodgers dip into outfield depth of loaded farm system Imagn ImagesHow do the Dodgers keep doing this?Obviously, they’ve spent a ton of money, but they’ve also gathered enough prospect capital to supplement their roster on the trade market. Keith Law this winter ranked the Dodgers as the second-best farm system in baseball, a Tier 1 system alongside the Brewers and Mariners.“The Dodgers are the paragon of hitter development,” Law wrote, “with a clear idea of who they believe they can help and processes that make it happen once they acquire the player, whether it’s via the draft, a trade or international signing.”The Dodgers put six players on Law’s updated Top 70 Prospects list, and six of them were outfielders. The Dodgers traded one of those outfielders (Zyhir Hope) in the Tarik Skubal deal. They also included River Ryan, another top prospect — No. 41 in Law’s latest overall rankings — who was crowded out of the Dodgers’ current rotation.The Dodgers were and still are absurdly deep, and they just used some of their prospect depth to add yet another front-line big leaguer.On River RyanBy Katie Woo and Fabian ArdayaInjuries have plagued most of River Ryan’s early career, but he remained one of the most tantalizing arms in the Dodgers’ system, despite being less than two weeks away from his 28th birthday.With a fastball that averages triple digits, Ryan was identified in spring as a pitcher Dodgers president Andrew Friedman was most excited to see in the majors this year. But two separate hamstring injuries hampered any chance of a call-up for Ryan, who is also nearly two years past Tommy John surgery.Ryan represents the high-ceiling, controllable starting pitching prospect the Tigers were coveting for Skubal. He is not eligible for arbitration until 2028 and won’t be a free agent until 2031. Though his injury history is a concern, he was regarded as having some of the highest upside in a well-regarded Dodgers’ system.What does Skubal blockbuster mean for playoff race? USA Today Network Tarik Skubal was No. 1 on our trade deadline Big Board, meaning The Athletic — and probably every other baseball outlet — viewed him as the biggest, realistic trade chip on the market. He’s now landed with the Dodgers, the back-to-back World Series champs who already had a 25.5-percent chance of winning the World Series, according to FanGraphs. The Yankees, at 11.2 percent, were the only other team with World Series odds in the double digits.Prospect returnBy Katie Woo and Fabian ArdayaThe Dodgers initially acquired Zhyir Hope in January 2024 as a template for how the organization hopes to keep their farm system going, flipping a blocked prospect in Michael Busch (and reliever Yency Almonte) to the Chicago Cubs for Hope and left-hander Jackson Ferris to inject upside into the lower levels of their minor-league system. Hope was billed as a high-upside outfield prospect out of high school, and has done nothing but hit since arriving in the Dodgers’ system. As part of the Dodgers’ vaunted Double-A outfield, Hope had an .899 OPS through his first 425 plate appearances, boosting his contact rates and showcasing some premium power from the left side to go with some speed on the defensive end. While his glove likely will be restricted to a corner outfield spot, Hope checked in as the No. 26 prospect in baseball in Keith Law’s updated midseason rankings.For as touted as Hope is, the Dodgers’ robust minor-league outfield depth allowed them to capitalize on his value. As The Athletic reported last week, Hope was the prospect the Dodgers felt most comfortable moving. With Josue De Paula, Eduardo Quintero and Mike Sirota (all top-100 prospects) also rising through the upper levels of Los Angeles’ farm system, Hope became expendable.State of Dodgers' rotation with Skubal USA Today Network For any team considering a trade for Tarik Skubal, the question of what to do with him was always an easy one: just stick him at the top of the rotation and try to have him ready for Game 1 of a playoff series. For the Dodgers, that means a current rotation that looks like this:Tarik Skubal, LHP.Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHPJustin Wrobleski, LHP Emmet Sheehan, RHPRoki Sakaski, RHPAnd for the playoffs, it could mean a rotation that looks like this:Tarik Skubal, LHPYoshinobu Yamamoto, RHPShohei Ohtani, RHPBlake Snell, LHPPlus Wrobleski, Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow — like Snell, currently on the IL — in the bullpen.Within a 30-second window of Tarik Skubal-to-the-Dodgers breaking, the San Francisco Giants were walked off in San Diego and fell to 17 games under .500. Sort of summarizes the state of affairs in what is supposed to be the West Coast's most heated rivalry.Skubal returned earlier than expected from surgery USA Today Network After a seven-inning, seven-strikeout start on April 29, Tarik Skubal was charging into May with a 2.70 ERA and the fewest walks-per-nine of any qualified starter in the sport. But he’d also shown some discomfort in that April 29 outing, and five days later, the Tigers announced that Skubal would require surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow.There was no immediate timetable for his return, but it’s safe to say that when he made his next big league start on June 13, he was well ahead of most predictions.“Bet you guys didn’t expect to see me here,” Skubal told reporters when he threw a bullpen less than two weeks after the procedure.Los Angeles surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the surgery with something called a NanoNeedle Scope 2.0, which ElAttrache explained to The Athletic is a relatively new tool that’s significantly smaller than a traditional arthroscope.“I think the first thing they said was, ‘The recovery will be faster,’” Skubal said. “I think I stopped listening after that.”Skubal has made every start since his June return.