The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline.LOS ANGELES — All throughout July, Andrew Friedman and the Los Angeles Dodgers maintained that they did not need Tarik Skubal, the reigning two-time American League Cy Young winner and by far the most impactful starting pitcher available at the trade deadline.But they sure did want him. And when you’re a team that can do anything but doesn’t have to, you can get the deal across the finish line.“Did you expect anything else?” one Dodgers player asked as the news filtered through the clubhouse Saturday night.The industry favorites all along, the Dodgers finalized a trade late Saturday to acquire Skubal from the Detroit Tigers for three prospects: right-hander River Ryan, outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-hander Brady Smith. It’s the kind of package that outbid what appeared to be a battle of the game’s farm systems, all while staying away from some of the names the Dodgers treasure most dearly.In other words: a textbook Dodgers deal, one that dramatically increases their already sky-high odds of becoming the first National League team to win three straight World Series.Multiple evaluators, granted anonymity because the trade is not yet official, expressed shock that the Dodgers were able to pull this off without giving up more. But the versatility and depth of the Dodgers’ system is part of what made a deal feel almost inevitable as the deadline neared.“There just aren’t that many star-level players in the game,” Friedman said to reporters Wednesday. “Any time one is available, we’re always going to participate in those conversations. We’ve shown to be very aggressive in the past.”Turns out that applies to the present, too.The Dodgers have again proved what they’ve said all year: It’s three-peat or bust. Now, they’ll add arguably the best pitcher in baseball to a stacked starting staff as they march toward October.Should we crown the Dodgers following the Skubal trade?Derek VanRiper and Eno SarrisSo … this rotation?Skubal’s arrival answers whatever lingering questions there were about the Dodgers’ quest for a third straight title, as well as ones yet to pop up. Blake Snell (elbow surgery) is expected to return after one more rehab start. Tyler Glasnow (back) is starting a rehab assignment and could be back in a month. The Dodgers have been adamant that Shohei Ohtani (nagging knee trouble) will return as a pitcher.If all those things happen, the Dodgers have the best rotation in the sport and perhaps in recent memory. Their staff would be loaded for the final month of the season, bolstered by a postseason bullpen that could use at least one of those starters.If not … Getting all of those guys back and healthy isn’t as make-or-break as it was just hours ago, before they got Skubal. And if Skubal’s history of arm issues crops up again, the Dodgers still have a group they felt is as deep as they’ve ever had.This is without even accounting for All-Star Justin Wrobleski, who could shift to a bullpen role in October along with current starters Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan and enhance a group that already has Edwin Díaz, Tanner Scott and others.For a Dodgers team that crumbled in the NLDS in 2023 and won the World Series in 2024 despite a lack of starting pitching, it’s the ultimate failsafe.What does this mean for Ohtani?The Dodgers have done their best to downplay injury concerns regarding Ohtani. He is dealing with lingering knee soreness that has plagued him since mid-June, has not pitched in a game since July 3 and has not thrown a bullpen since July 22. In a press conference Wednesday, Friedman said he expects Ohtani to progress to throwing bullpens “relatively soon” and that his two-way star will be ready to pitch come October.But by adding Skubal, the Dodgers take immense pressure off Ohtani needing to pitch, particularly in the regular season. But could it impact their postseason plans? It’s possible, especially if Snell and Glasnow remain healthy.The lone remaining regular-season goal is to secure a first-round bye. The Dodgers’ 69-42 record suggests that is all but guaranteed. Teams have traditionally needed a maximum of four starters in a playoff rotation (though the Dodgers won the 2024 World Series with three). Between Skubal, Glasnow, Snell and 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers almost certainly wouldn’t need Ohtani until a best-of-seven series.There’s also a matter of value. Ohtani has said his knee pain only bothers him when he is pitching and that he believes it is due to a mechanical issue with his plant leg as he finishes his delivery, adding that it has not impacted his hitting. If that remains the case, the Dodgers must ask themselves if Ohtani is more valuable as a somewhat two-way player? Or come October, is he better suited as a hitter only? Adding Skubal alleviates some of the weight of that decision.Do the Dodgers have the ability to do more?Scarily, yes. The Dodgers approached this deadline with seven of Keith Law’s top 70 prospects, and wound up moving just two of those players – Hope (No. 26) and Ryan (No. 41) in this deal. As The Athletic reported this week, the Dodgers were particularly keen on keeping outfielders Josue De Paula and Eduardo Quintero. Mike Sirota gets rave reviews. Even outside of Law’s upper crust of prospects, the Dodgers have intriguing pieces such as right-hander Christian Zazueta who would fill in credibly as headliners for a trade.The system is still deep, and the Dodgers retain the ability to make it deeper. The Athletic reported earlier this month that they were exploring potential prospect-for-prospect trades, using their outfield surplus as a way to address other areas of need in their system. This is still on the table.They have found a way to access elite young talent even while suffering draft and international bonus pool penalties for their exorbitant payrolls, and smart trades are part of the reason. If anything, how this specific deal came together is an example of why this method of roster building has worked so well for the Dodgers.The Dodgers got Hope and left-hander Jackson Ferris from the Chicago Cubs in January 2024 for reliever Yency Almonte and Michael Busch, a former first-round pick who was largely blocked at the big-league level.They got River Ryan in spring training in 2022 for Matt Beaty, a former 12th-round pick they developed into a big leaguer and whom they was designating for assignment. They sent him to the San Diego Padres for Ryan, a converted former infielder who has had health concerns but regularly touches 100 mph with a deep, six-pitch mix.Smith was the Dodgers’ third-round selection in 2023, a draft in which the organization didn’t have its first selection until pick No. 36.The Dodgers claim they hate doing these deals, but have done them beforeIt’s an annual rite of passage for Friedman to approach a dais each summer and repeat a familiar gripe to assembled media inquiring about the Dodgers’ plans at the deadline. Friedman loathes the inflation that comes with each midseason transaction frenzy.“You’re paying 150 cents, 200 cents on the dollar,” Friedman said just this week.This particularly applies to rentals. But the Dodgers will still strike a deal when an opportunity presents itself. They went out did it with Yu Darvish in 2017 and Manny Machado in 2018, which led to consecutive pennants in their fruitless attempt to end a decades-long title drought. Skubal’s arrival represents the Dodgers’ biggest swing for a rental since 2021, when they tried to repeat as champions by acquiring Max Scherzer (and Trea Turner, who had an extra year of club control) in a megadeal with the Washington Nationals.Scherzer might be as close to a comp to Skubal as there is, even if it’s not perfect. The right-hander was maybe the best pitcher in the game for the rest of that regular season, delivering 11 starts with a 1.98 ERA before succumbing to what Scherzer called an “overcooked” arm during the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves.Skubal’s acquisition is not without risk. He is still just 87 days removed from elbow surgery to remove a bone chip from his left elbow, though he has returned to make nine starts for the Tigers with his stuff largely intact and a 2.87 ERA to show for it.Given the history at stake, and the price they paid, it’s a risk the Dodgers are more than willing to take.Why the Dodgers were comfortable with this returnFor all the hype about what a return package would look like, the Dodgers knew they had the talent to match — and more importantly, recover.Yes, Skubal’s status as a two-month rental dilutes the pot. But the Tigers should have held the leverage here. One could argue that due to the Dodgers’ deep system, that leverage wasn’t nearly as strong.The Dodgers’ farm system was built to absorb hits like this. Even without Hope, they still have one of the deepest outfield corps in baseball. While talent evaluators are high on Ryan’s stuff, patience was waning. The internal projected role for Ryan was in relief, with the Dodgers believing his triple-digit velo could be a weapon in late innings. When his second hamstring injury flared up, the organization’s calculus changed. Sheehan and Gavin Stone are both in their final year of pre-arbitration, giving the Dodgers flexible rotation depth heading into 2027.