The Dodgers landed the biggest fish on the market before the trade deadline; their most aggressive summer move since acquiring Trea Turner and Max Scherzer in 2021.
Tarik Skubal is the back-to-back AL Cy Young winner who holds the lowest ERA among qualified pitchers since the start of the 2023 season. He is the best in the business, in his prime, and is an extreme competitor who wants to win.
“The entire focus of this organization is on winning championships, and that is my entire focus of playing baseball, so we are very much aligned, and I am ready to go out there and compete and give this organization and city everything that I’ve got,” said Skubal.
There are not many players you can add to a roster that move the needle more than Skubal, signaling that the Dodgers have pushed their chips into the pot and are willing to do whatever it takes to win three straight titles.
“We didn’t go into this saying this is a need, but whenever there is a star-level player that is available that can really shift championship odds, those are the moments when we will be more aggressive,” said president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
Skubal has not dazzled in his first 2 starts in Dodger blue, giving up 5 runs in 11 innings, but he will be fine once he adjusts to life on his new team.
In adding Skubal, the Dodgers have the potential to roll out arguably the greatest October rotation ever assembled.
There are some “ifs”, but people within the Dodgers organization are confident all of Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani will return to form and join the rotation before the postseason rolls around.
Snell just threw 6 innings of 1-run baseball in his first start since May, and Glasnow has been throwing rehab games in Oklahoma City. Ohtani probably could have been pitching all along if needed, but was shut down to get closer to full health before ramping back up.
Assuming everyone is available, the playoff rotation looks something like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Skubal, Snell, and Ohtani. There are very few pitchers in the league you would rather have starting a must-win game than any of these 4 guys.
In fact, going back to Skubal having the lowest ERA since 2023, Yamamoto, Snell, and Ohtani are 3 of the other 4 players that round out the top 5. The only other name that would appear on that list is Paul Skenes, who has disappointed this year with a 9-11 record.
If someone does not have it that day, Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, and 2026 All-Star Justin Wrobleski would all be available in relief as legit starters off the bench. A rotation of those 3 pitchers would be better than what a lot of major league teams send out there.
“It is a statement from this organization to the rest of the league that we are not just satisfied with what happened the last couple of years,” said Miguel Rojas. “Doc is really into winning this year. He cares about winning the last 2, but he kind of says he doesn’t really care and just wants to win this year.”
The Phillies featured a foursome of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt in 2011, and the Braves had a trio of Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz in the 90s and early 2000s. This is the kind of firepower Los Angeles has now, and those teams didn’t have 2 more pitchers with All-Star appearances, plus a 24-year-old phenom on speed dial.
“It’s hard to say against any of the guys that I have seen; I don’t want to put it against the Braves in the 90s, but just as far as what I have seen. This is as good as I have seen,” said Dave Roberts.
Edwin Diaz has been the one major red flag on this pitching staff in his closer role, but if he continues to struggle in that position through August and September, Roberts could just pull the plug on the experiment in October.
He has other options out of the pen, like Tanner Scott, or could turn to any of his 7 starters as well. Seeing a guy like Ohtani come out for the 9th, as he did in the World Baseball Classic, would feel a lot like game over. Sasaki also flourished in that role last postseason.
If Los Angeles does not win the World Series this year, it will be because they did not put up enough runs. There is a very good chance that 4 or 5 will be plenty most nights.
Benjamin Verbrugge is a reporter for News4usonline who studied journalism at CSU Dominguez Hills. “Sports have brought me much joy throughout my life, and I want to give a little back to something that has meant so much to me.” Email Benjamin at benverbrugge8@gmail.com.
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