Tarik Skubal in Dodger blue is a real thing now, and his first start is about to happen.
The two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner will make his Dodgers debut against the Cubs after being traded from Detroit at the deadline in one of the biggest deals in recent MLB history. The trade shocked the sport when it happened. The debut is going to be a full national broadcast event.
The Tigers moved him because they were staring down free agency at the end of next year and knew they were not going to sign him. The Dodgers moved every prospect chip they had left to get him. This is what a title-hungry franchise does when the window is open.
The Dodgers’ Rotation Is Now Absurd
Skubal joins Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani (whenever the elbow lets him), Blake Snell, and a rotating cast of arms. That is arguably the deepest and most talented rotation in baseball.
Skubal himself is a different animal. He struck out over 30 percent of hitters last year with a fastball that averages 97 and one of the nastier changeups in the league. He does not walk anyone. His command is so precise that he could probably work through a lineup a fourth time if he needed to.
The Dodgers were the best offense in baseball before this trade. Their rotation was the one soft spot on the team, mostly because of injuries. Skubal solves that. He gives them a legitimate ace they can lean on in October, when Yamamoto’s workload will be a real question.
The Cubs’ Bad Timing
Chicago drew the short straw with the pitching matchup. The Cubs are trying to hold on to a wild card spot in the NL, and they now get to face a guy who is going to be locked in for his first Dodgers appearance.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell has already told reporters that his team will attack the fastball early. That is the right approach against Skubal. Get him in the zone before he starts locating the offspeed stuff perfectly. Whether they can execute is a different question.
The lineup is decent but not great. Kyle Tucker is now in Toronto, which drained some of the top-of-the-order threat. Ian Happ, Michael Busch, and Dansby Swanson do the heavy lifting now. It is a lineup that can wear out a starter but has trouble putting up early runs on elite arms.
Tigers Fans Are Not Over It
The Detroit fanbase is still processing this trade. Skubal was drafted and developed by the Tigers. He was the face of a rebuilding franchise that finally looked like it was ready to win. Then the front office pulled the plug and started prepping for the next cycle.
That is a legitimate baseball decision. It is also brutal for fans who spent years watching bad baseball waiting for the payoff. Detroit did get a real haul in the trade. That takes a few years to bear fruit. In the meantime, Tigers fans get to watch their guy pitch October games for someone else.
The Bigger NL Picture
The Dodgers are the clear World Series favorite now. Vegas moved them up as soon as the trade broke. That was already the case, honestly. Adding Skubal just makes it more obvious.
The Phillies, Braves, and Brewers have to reckon with this. All three teams have real starting pitching, but nobody can match the Dodgers top to bottom. October pitching decides October series. The Dodgers just stacked their October pitching in a way nobody has before.
Skubal takes the mound Sunday. It is going to be must-watch baseball. And it is going to be the start of a stretch where the Dodgers get to show why they mortgaged their farm system to get him.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
