“Of course, the Dodgers got their guy.”
That was the prevailing reaction when LA landed the trade deadline’s biggest prize, two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal – an ace pitcher who could be the difference-maker in October when the Dodgers go for a third-straight title.
The trade struck many fans as further evidence that baseball has become, in a word, unfair – a case of the rich get richer. The Dodgers, beneficiaries of a massive TV rights deal which is partially shielded from revenue sharing and enjoying the major marketing boon that is global superstar Shohei Ohtani, sign all the best free agents (convincing them to defer portions of the payout, a tactic that technically any team can employ) for the most money. They take big swings at the deadline, and no amount of success seems to satiate the chase for rings.
And yet, the financial might shouldn’t have mattered here. Trades are done not with deep pockets but with prospects and audacity. According to different rankings, either the Tampa Bay Rays or the Milwaukee Brewers have the best farm system in baseball. They could have blown the Tigers away with their offer. In other words, as The Ringer put it, “This Time, Teams Could Have Stopped the Dodgers.”
