Dodgers-Tarik Skubal Rumors Have MLB Fans Furious

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts famously joked after the 2025 NLCS that his club would “ruin baseball” if they went on to win the World Series.

Well, LA did win it all, and baseball has remained un-ruined.

That doesn’t mean the game is completely safe, though. For one, looming lockout potential a year from now has fans terrified. There’s also another ruinous outcome that could happen as early as this offseason, and it’s Dodgers-related.

Since the Winter Meetings happened, there’s been plenty of trade buzz connecting the champs to two-time Cy Young lefty Tarik Skubal, arguably the best pitcher on Earth.

With Detroit Tigers baseball ops president Scott Harris refusing to make Skubal untouchable, many sources around MLB have suggested that the Dodgers could go get him.

TSN’s Steve Phillips recently described a Dodgers-Skubal trade as “doable”, noting that LA could send Detroit a package centered around Tyler Glasnow, Emmet Sheehan, and stud prospects like Josue De Paula.

ESPN’s Jorge Castillo fanned the flames of Skubal rumors when he reported hearsay from Winter Meetings that a Skubal trade is “likely”.

If the Dodgers trade for Tarik Skubal, we should just start the lockout now and we’ll see you in 2028.

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) December 10, 2025

If the Dodgers pulled off a deal for Skubal (and it was one involving Glasnow), they’d be rolling with a 2026 rotation featuring Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, and others factoring in as a sixth starter or depth pieces challening Roki for the No. 5 spot.

Would Skubal to the Dodgers truly “ruin baseball”?

It’s worth noting that the New York Mets have also been floated as a logical destination for Skubal (more frequently than he’s been linked to the Dodgers); that is, if the Tigers are actually going to trade Skubal, in the first place.

Phillips argued during Buster Olney’s Baseball Tonight podcast that Detroit should, indeed, trade their ace, pointing to the fact that the Tigers aren’t going to end up signing Skubal next offseason to the $400 million or $450 million deal that he’s expected to demand.

There’s also a legion of fans and pundits who feel that Detroit’s best path forward is to hold onto Skubal until at least the trade deadline of next season and see if they are contenders at that point. If the Tigers aren’t looking competitive in July, the idea is that they’d go all-in on a Skubal trade with some desperate suitor.

Would a team really trade for Skubal at the deadline, considering it could end up being a half-season rental? Given the absolute haul that Detroit would surely demand for Skubal, it feels like a reach.

Then again, when you’re talking about the greatest pitcher in the game, anything can happen. Virtually every baseball fan not associated with the Dodgers is just hoping that Tarik stays very, very far away from LA.