The tradeDodgers get: LHP Tarik Skubal
Tigers get: OF Zyhir Hope, RHP River Ryan and RHP Brady SmithDodgers: A+
Tigers: BIf Skubal wants to return to Detroit to stuff his belongings into cardboard boxes and then hop in an RV and haul across the country to get to Southern California — maybe he stops to visit the Rocky Mountains or the Grand Canyon, maybe he spends a night or two playing baccarat in Las Vegas — he can take his time with his arrival. The Dodgers don’t need him for August or September. This, obviously, is about the handful of starts he could make in October, when the Dodgers will again attempt to leverage their embarrassment of riches into a title.L.A. has built a deep, talented farm system. That’s what allows them to pull off a deal like this (and, sure, it helps that they can backfill any hint of a deficiency in free agency, as they do every winter). But they’ll cruise into the postseason — health provided, of course — with Skubal, a reigning two-time Cy Young Award winner; Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has pitched like an ace; Shohei Ohtani, you might be familiar with his work; Blake Snell, another two-time Cy Young Award winner; and, if they get desperate, All-Star Justin Wrobleski is enjoying a breakout campaign and Tyler Glasnow features ace-like stuff when available. This is like when you see a delivery truck back into the driveway of that neighbor who has everything. “Oh, now they’re getting a second stone pizza oven for their patio?!”Zyhir Hope could blossom into a star outfielder. And so could Eduardo Quintero, Mike Sirota, Josue De Paula, James Tibbs III and Charles Davalan — five other Dodgers outfield prospects who all cracked Keith Law’s recent top-70 prospects list. For the Tigers, a timid offseason and a sluggish first couple of months doomed them and made this feel inevitable. In the wide-open American League, maybe they can still hang around. — Zack MeiselShould we crown the Dodgers following the Skubal trade?Derek VanRiper and Eno SarrisDodgers: A+
