Five Trade Packages That Could’ve Topped the Dodgers’ Tarik Skubal Offer

Tarik Skubal is a Dodger. This was always the most likely outcome at this year’s trade deadline. The rich got richer, while the rest of the field will have to find ways to keep up after watching the crown jewel of the market head to MLB’s best team.

In the end, it didn’t take a whole lot for the Dodgers to secure Skubal’s services. The trade package consisted of outfield prospect Zyhir Hope and pitching prospects River Ryan and Braden Smith. When examining the deal, it’s hard to imagine other clubs weren’t able to put forth equally competitive or even better offers to the Tigers. Los Angeles offloaded its Nos. 5, 7 and 17 prospects in the deal. Of course, the Dodgers have a loaded farm system, in addition to one of the most star-studded rosters ever assembled. Those players likely would’ve ranked higher in other farm systems, and the impact of trading those highly rated talents would have been more detrimental to smaller-market teams than it will be for L.A.

Still, the Dodgers landed the top prize and it really didn’t cost them all too much. We’re going to explore some hypothetical trade offers other contending teams could’ve presented to Detroit to acquire Skubal that would exceed the value the Dodgers gave up.

Rays

Rays receive: LHP Tarik Skubal
Tigers receive: RHP Brody Hopkins, C Caden Bonine, OF Brendan Summerhill

The Rays were one of the teams most heavily linked to Skubal as they look to compete for the franchise’s first World Series title. It’s not clear if the Rays put forth an offer to the Tigers before the Skubal deal was wrapped up, but they have a strong farm system and could’ve crafted a package of prospects to out-do the Dodgers.

Theo Gillen was off limits in any trade for Skubal, which makes sense given he’s the Rays’ No. 1 prospect and the reigning back-to-back Cy Young winner would likely have signed elsewhere after this season. But a trade package consisting of RHP Brody Hopkins (Tampa Bay’s No. 5 prospect), Caden Bonine (Rays’ No. 3 prospect and No. 90 in MLB Pipeline’s top 100), and outfielder Brendan Summerhill (Rays’ No. 23 prospect) would’ve been a very enticing collection of young talent.

Of course, that would still be a rather large investment for the Rays to surrender in exchange for a few months of Skubal. Tampa Bay likely felt it couldn’t justify hedging so much of its future for a rental pitcher, even one who’s won back-to-back American League Cy Young awards.

Instead, the Rays settled on a deal for Freddy Peralta, who they acquired from the Mets without hemmorhaging their farm system. Tampa sent three prospects––No. 15 Aidan Smith, No. 26 Gary Gill Hill and No. 27 Émilien Pitre—to New York in exchange for Peralta, who they’re hopeful can bounce back amid a disappointing season.

Phillies

Phillies receive: LHP Tarik Skubal
Tigers receive: RHP Gage Wood, OF Justin Crawford, RHP Roman Marquez OR RHP Moises Chace

The Phillies engaged in trade talks with the Tigers over a potential Skubal deal, and reportedly offered Detroit a package of prospects and MLB talent consisting of Gage Wood, Justin Crawford and Jonathon Bowlan. It wasn’t enough to sway Detroit’s hand, however. Wood is Philadelphia’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 48 ranked player in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100. Crawford, a former top prospect who debuted this season, hasn’t had a great start to life in MLB, logging a .641 OPS and 0.1 fWAR in his first 101 games. Bowlan, 29, has been solid out of the bullpen in ‘26, registering a 3.03 ERA with 48 strikeouts against nine walks across 38 2/3 innings.

Crawford and Wood are certainly the types of talent that would’ve piqued the Tigers’ interest, but it’s likely Detroit would’ve preferred another young piece as opposed to a 29-year-old reliever. Had the Phillies included another young arm such as Ramon Marquez (No. 4 prospect) or Moises Chace (No. 9 prospect), it may have been enough to get the deal done. That would be a significant investment for Skubal, however, and the Phillies don’t have nearly as rich a farm system as the Dodgers. They’d be parting ways with some valuable pieces for a few months of Skubal while still running the risk of watching him join the Dodgers in the winter.

Brewers

Brewers receive: LHP Tarik Skubal
Tigers receive: INF Luis Peña, RHP Logan Henderson, RHP Bishop Letson

The Brewers would never have included top prospect Jesús Made in a deal for Skubal, and they shouldn’t have. He’s the top player in the minor leagues and isn’t far from owning a spot on the big league roster. Even without Made, this is a better package than the Tigers got from the Dodgers.

As the centerpiece to the deal, Peña has a much higher ceiling than Zyhir Hope, though he’s further from the big leagues. While he isn’t a great fielder and could be ticketed for third base, Peña possesses four plus tools, while his speed rates plus-plus. He’s the No. 2 prospect in Milwaukee’s system according to MLB Pipeline, and our midseason prospect rankings will have him at No. 17 overall. Henderson was a mid-level prospect entering the season but has made an impact when he’s been on the mound in 2026. Through nine starts, the 24-year-old righty is 5–1 with a 2.66 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Letson is the No. 9 prospect in the system according to Pipeline. He’s a 21-year-old righty in Double A with a mid-90s fastball and an excellent low-80s sweeper. He still needs to refine his changeup, but at 6’4” and 170 pounds, there’s still some projection there.

In the end, this is a price the Milwaukee could have met but chose not to. Low-cost players with star upside like Peña are too valuable in a market that size. Henderson has already earned a rotation spot and is also cost-controlled for years. Letson would have been easy to part with in a big deal, but unlike the Dodgers, the Brewers simply can’t afford to throw prospects like Peña and Henderson away on a rental.

Cubs

Cubs receive: LHP Tarik Skubal
Tigers receive: OF Josiah Hartshorn, OF Kane Kepley, RHP Brooks Caple, SS Jaims Martinez

This deal includes Chicago’s top prospect, and while he’s lower down our prospect rankings than Hope, the rest of this package is better than what the Tigers eventually landed.

Hartshorn is the top player in Chicago’s system. He’s a 19-year-old switch-hitting outfielder with a great feel at the plate and impressive power that has produced 16 home runs and a .907 OPS in his first pro season. Kepley is another outfielder and Chicago’s fifth-ranked prospect, while Caple, a 23-year-old righty, is No. 8. Martinez is a 17-year-old shortstop who signed as an international free agent this year and has a ton of upside.

Chicago could have met this price and still had a decent chunk of prospects to deal from in the future, but they clearly viewed Skubal’s status as a rental as not worth this level of deal.

Braves

Braves receive: LHP Tarik Skubal
Tigers receive: LHP Cam Caminiti, SS John Gil, LHP Briggs McKenzie

Given the issues in their starting rotation, the Braves need to add a starter before the deadline, but didn’t wind up landing the best one on the market. Atlanta could easily have put together a package that bested what the Dodgers put on the table, but opted not to.

Caminiti is the Braves’ top prospect on MLB Pipeline, though the shine is wearing off him a bit. A first-rounder in 2024 after reclassifying, the 19-year-old lefty has three quality pitches and boasts a 3.89 ERA in 18 appearances (17 starts) at High A this season. McKenzie is listed at No. 4 in the Braves’ system and is another 19-year-old lefty with some upside. He was a fourth-rounder in 2025, and his three-pitch mix has helped him to a 2.08 ERA in seven starts across three levels this year. Gil was an international signing in 2023 and is the team’s No. 6 prospect. The 20-year-old has a .724 OPS at High A, while using his elite speed to snag 43 bases this year.

Like the other teams on this list, the Braves’ prospects simply mean more to their franchise. Giving away three players with upside for two months of Skubal before he leaves in free agency would be a bit irresponsible. This package is better, but that doesn’t mean Atlanta could afford it.

In the end, Skubal is headed to Hollywood, as the Dodgers and Tigers got the deal done on Saturday evening. But in a world of what-if’s, there are some alternative prospect packages that other contending teams could’ve put forth to bring the reigning Cy Young winner to their organization.

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