Could the Dodgers Trade for Tarik Skubal? National Reporter Reveals the Latest
The Dodgers are seeking to repair their diminished starting rotation. The front office has been linked to several starting pitching targets in advance of the deadline.
In an interview with Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi discussed the circumstances behind a trade for Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal.
They (The Tigers) are not under any pressure to move him. They’re not. They are, I think, open-minded if someone’s going to overwhelm them, but I would not use the term ‘shopping’. I think that Scott Harris and the Tigers will wait,” Morosi said. “They have not ruled out the possibility on trading him. So whatever semantics we want to use here, I do think at this point, two weeks to go, they’ll listen and then they’ll see what they’re hearing back from different teams.”
This season, Skubal has posted a career-best 2.34 ERA across 123 innings. The starting pitcher has tallied 146 strikeouts, 22 walks while allowing 91 hits and 32 earned runs. Batters average .200 against the southpaw.
Skubal’s left hand would diversify the Dodgers’ rotation. The rotation originally featured only one healthy starting left-hander, James Paxton, but he was designated for assignment on Monday.
Acquring Skubal will require the Dodgers to make major sacrifices.
“I think from the Dodgers’ perspective, I think you’d have to include potentially some Major League-level talent. That’s where it’s going to have to really sting for the Dodgers that the Tigers might well ask for a (Gavin) Stone, they might ask for (Miguel) Vargas or (Andy) Pages in addition to (Dalton) Rushing. It’s gonna have to be a massive deal,” Morosi said.
Although the Dodgers have strong players to offer, the Tigers are in need of position players rather than pitchers. Morosi shared a different team he thinks has a chance to get Skubal.
“I think a team like the Orioles is more naturally fit to get Skubal than the Dodgers would be, simply because the Orioles have an abundance of position players. The Tigers rotations in pretty good shape for the long term. … But, they lack star position players,” Morosi said.
The Dodgers will have to act quickly if they want to add Skubal to their rotation as the deadline is one week away.
