Latest Tarik Skubal Prediction Will Make Fans Hate Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking to make history in 2026. They want to become the first Major League Baseball team to three-peat since the New York Yankees did it from 1998 to 2000.
To help with their mission, the Dodgers’ front office might be willing to get ridiculous. This includes possibly trading for two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers.
In fact, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers very recently predicted that this will happen before the 2026 MLB trade deadline.
“For several reasons — from the rarity of a three-peat to the potential for a new economic landscape starting in 2027 — the Dodgers will surely push all their chips to the middle of the table in their quest for another title,” Rogers wrote on January 2.
“They can even afford to trade for Skubal as a rental if the move leads them to a third straight championship, whereas just about any other team would need to immediately sign him to a long-term deal in order to justify giving up the prospects it will undoubtedly take to land a back-to-back Cy Young Award winner. If the Tigers fall out of the race, L.A. simply makes too much sense as a landing spot for Skubal — that is assuming he’s not traded in the coming weeks.”
Skubal delivered another dominant performance last season for the Tigers, posting a 13-6 record with a 2.21 ERA over 31 starts and 195 1/3 innings pitched. He struck out 241 batters while maintaining a league-leading 0.89 WHIP, earning him a second consecutive American League Cy Young Award (the first AL pitcher to repeat since Pedro Martinez in 1999-2000). In the postseason, Skubal maintained his quality with 14 strikeouts in the Wild Card Series opener against Cleveland and 22 more across two ALDS starts versus the Seattle Mariners, though the Tigers fell short in Game 5.
Over his MLB career, which began with a 2020 debut after being drafted in the ninth round in 2018 from Seattle University, Skubal has compiled a 54-37 record, 3.08 ERA, and 889 strikeouts in 137 games through 766 2/3 innings. Despite early setbacks like flexor tendon surgery in 2022, he has emerged as one of baseball’s elite starters, positioning himself for a potential 1,000-strikeout milestone in 2026.