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The Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to target Tarik Skubal

On Friday Night, the Los Angeles Dodgers will take on the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium in a National League Division Series rematch.

The Dodgers eliminated the Phillies on that occasion after a 3-1 series win.

During that series, the Los Angeles Dodgers started four different All-Star pitchers. Now, the team may be looking to add a reigning two-time Cy Young award winner.

Los Angeles Dodgers Linked to Tarik Skubal

With the Detroit Tigers firmly out of the playoff race, the likelihood that they deal two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skuball appears high. 

And The Athletic’s Jim Bowden believes the Dodgers are the best fit, as he ranked them No. 1 among seven teams who he considered are the most likely to trade for the left-handed ace.

Bowden wrote of the Dodgers potential interest:
“Of course, they’re going to be in on Skubal. Just imagine an October rotation of Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. Yikes! They certainly have enough to trade as well, as they could offer either Justin Wrobleski or Emmet Sheehan off their major-league roster and one of their top outfield prospects, such as Zyhir Hope, Josue De Paula or Eduardo Quintero.”

Regarding Skubal’s trade status, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote:

“Now that it’s becoming inevitable that the free-falling Detroit Tigers may have no choice but to trade two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal at the deadline, rival executives believe the bidding will come down to four finalists that not only can afford the remainder of his $32 million contract, but will also be willing to give up prized prospects:

The Dodgers had previously been linked to Skubal as one executive had previously told FanSided’s Robert Murray:

“It would have to be a [Dave] Dombrowski or [AJ] Preller to get a top prospect. Everyone else treats it like Wall Street and asset value so my guess is a couple of top 10 prospects for a couple months of him. Or [Andrew] Friedman could go out and get him. He ups a team’s chances to win the World Series by a pretty big margin. You get two starts in that five-game series. Friedman gets him, that’s my prediction.”

Skubal’s Potential Fit With Dodgers

Regarding how Skubal might fit with the Dodgers rotation, Dodgers on SI’s Valentina Martinez wrote wrote:

“The Dodgers lost Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell to injury earlier this month. While both are expected back well before the postseason, a team can never have enough starting pitching, especially in its quest for a third straight World Series title.

The starting rotation currently features Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Eric Lauer, Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski and Roki Sasaki.

Sasaki and Sheehan have struggled to be consistent and pitch deep into games this season. Lauer was acquired as a depth piece, and it’s uncertain how he will perform in the long-term given his early season struggles with the Toronto Blue Jays.

That leaves Ohtani and Yamamoto as rotation staples in the Dodgers’ present situation.

Only time will tell whether the Dodgers can execute a blockbuster trade for Skubal, but it would surely increase their chances of winning a World Series in 2026.”