Baseball’s richest team is getting even richer in a move likely to escalate existing concerns about MLB’s competitive balance.
The two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers acquired Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, winner of the last two American League Cy Young Awards, late Saturday for three prospects in a blockbuster trade. Skubal had been the top name discussed as the Aug. 3 trade deadline approached, and the Dodgers beat out a set out of other suitors for the left-hander.
Skubal previously had signaled he did not want to leave Detroit. An underperforming Tigers team standing at five games under .500, however, exacerbated the pressure on the franchise to get something back for Skubal while it still could. Skubal will be a free agent after the season, is expected to at least challenge the $325 million record for a free-agent pitcher contract, and the status of any sort of draft-pick compensation in MLB is unknown amid ongoing labor negotiations with the MLB Players Association.
“I’m excited to be a Dodger,” Skubal said late Saturday after the Tigers beat the A’s in Sacramento. “I’m excited to get down there and meet all those guys and chase three championships in a row. It’s hard to do, so I’m excited to be a part of that.”
