Rival Exec Expects Dodgers to Land Tarik Skubal in Blockbuster Trade

The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to be linked with ace Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers as the Aug. 3 trade deadline draws closer.

Skubal, who will become a free agent at the end of the year, has been one of the more talked-about players who could be available at the deadline this summer. The left-hander has expressed a desire to stay in Detroit for a playoff push, but with him almost certainly to find a new home this offseason, it could be tough to justify.

Even with all the rumors surrounding the Dodgers and Skubal, it has been reported that Los Angeles prefers to stay out of the trade sweepstakes. The Dodgers, instead, have been linked to making smaller moves around the margins or simply bolstering the depth of the farm system.

But until it becomes impossible for Skubal to be traded to the Dodgers, the rumors will continue. Los Angeles is viewed as a sleeping giant around the baseball world, with rival executives still believing that the Dodgers will end up with Skubal when all is said and done.

“I assume the Dodgers will land him,” one NL exec said to The Athletic.

Reports came out recently that rivals feared that the Dodgers' disinterest in Skubal was a ploy to have other teams keep their guards down. The Dodgers are always lurking in the background, waiting for the right moment to strike at players that they want.

Any team trading for Skubal will need to pay a heavy price, even as a rental. The Tigers understand his value, and this could be a chance for them to net multiple assets for a quick retool.

The Dodgers match up "perfectly" on a trade with the Tigers due to their plethora of top-tier prospects. But giving up multiple top prospects for a potential rental hasn't been the way the Dodgers have operated in recent years.

So, the big question holding the Dodgers back is whether the front office wants to unload multiple top prospects for Skubal when they don't really need him. While the Dodgers have seen injuries take place to a few starters this year, when healthy, they have the strongest collection of arms in the league.

Skubal has been viewed as the best pitcher in baseball over the last few seasons, with him currently the reigning two-time Cy Young Award winner in the American League. The left-hander would instantly make any rotation stronger, even the Dodgers' already stacked group of pitchers.

However, the injuries to Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and now Shohei Ohtani within the rotation could force the Dodgers' hand. If the injuries to each player don't progress as expected before Aug. 3, the front office may look to make a splash.

The dream of adding Skubal to a rotation that has Glasnow, Snell, Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, among others, doesn't seem like a reality right now. But given how fluid trade talks can be, the Dodgers could always pivot to make a play to land Skubal, which would make them by far the favorite to win this year's World Series.

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