ESPN Radio Host Calls Out Brewers for Not Landing Tarik Skubal

The Milwaukee Brewers have some work to do with just hours to go before the trade deadline. They were supposedly in the running for back-to-back American League Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal, but the left-hander was ultimately traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, which was expected by most throughout the industry.

The Brewers still need some starting pitching help though, so it will be interesting to see what they decide to do. After the team failed to land Skubal, Mark Chmura of ESPN Milwaukee called them out for it and questioned whether or not the Brewers were truly serious about landing him.

"Great GM's roll the dice," Chmura said. "Their currency is their players, and they have plenty of them. They have the No. 1 farm system in the league. This doesn't cost (owner Mark) Attanasio any money.

"The fact that this happened Saturday night at 9:00 tells me they weren't really serious players in getting Skubal."

"The fact that this happened Saturday night at 9:00 tells me they weren't really serious players in getting Skubal."#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/lfZRWB4SFI
— ESPN Milwaukee (@ESPNMilwaukee) August 3, 2026

Brewers missed on Skubal

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) stands on the mound against the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

While trading for Skubal would have been a departure from how the Brewers typically do things, given that they traded Freddy Peralta for prospects before his walk year, it still would have made the Brewers a much better team.

A starting rotation with Jacob Misiorowski and Skubal at the top could have been a true threat to the Dodgers' reign and back-to-back World Series champions. Now, it's just a case of the rich getting richer.

The Brewers likely weren't as big of a player for Skubal as they were made out to be. This is a small-market team after all, but they had the pieces necessary to pull off a deal and become a threat to Los Angeles. They ultimately chose not to.

This was a deal that likely should have taken up until the final hours of the trade deadline, but the Dodgers were clearly more aggressive than any of Skubal's other suitors, and that includes the Brewers.

Milwaukee still has a solid team, but it's going to be even harder for them to stop the Dodgers now that Skubal is there. The Dodgers already appeared to be the team to beat in Major League Baseball, and this trade simply further confirms it. It's going to be hard for any team to challenge them in the playoffs.

The Brewers were swept by them last October in the NLCS, and they don't appear to have a much better chance at reversing their fortunes now that Skubal is off the board. But the Dodgers may have been the only serious players for him.

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