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ESPN’s Jeff Passan said on The Rich Eisen Show that the Dodgers are the team best positioned to trade for Tarik Skubal, per Fathom Journal. No deal is imminent — this is Passan’s assessment of the trade landscape heading toward the deadline — but it’s a significant statement coming from arguably the most connected reporter in baseball. When Passan starts connecting dots between a team and a player, front offices are usually already talking.

Skubal has established himself as one of the premier left-handed starters in the American League. The 29-year-old came up through the Tigers’ system and broke out in a major way during the 2024 season, winning the AL Cy Young Award after posting a dominant campaign that put him squarely in the conversation with the game’s elite arms. He pairs a mid-90s fastball with a devastating slider and has continued to pitch like an ace in 2026, making him the kind of front-of-the-rotation starter that contenders covet every July. With Detroit likely out of postseason contention again, the Tigers figure to be sellers, and Skubal is the biggest chip they hold.

For the Dodgers, the interest makes all the sense in the world. Our rotation has dealt with significant injury concerns — Kyle Tucker is still working back, and the pitching staff has been patched together at various points this season. Adding a true No. 1 starter like Skubal would transform the rotation picture entirely, especially heading into October. The Dodgers have the prospect capital and financial flexibility to make a move of this magnitude, which is exactly why Passan singled them out.

I’ll say this plainly: Skubal is the best starting pitcher who could realistically become available this summer. He’s not a rental arm you’re hoping holds up for two months — he’s a Cy Young winner in his prime. The Dodgers pursuing him would be aggressive, expensive in terms of prospects, and exactly the kind of move this front office has shown a willingness to make. Andrew Friedman has never been shy about going big when the right player surfaces, and Skubal fits every criteria.

The cost would be steep. Detroit would demand top-tier prospects, and the Dodgers would have to decide how much of their farm system they’re willing to part with. But this is a team built to win now, and adding Skubal to a rotation that already features Shohei Ohtani on the mound would give us arguably the most fearsome one-two punch in baseball. We’re a long way from a deal being done — this is June speculation from a well-sourced reporter — but the fact that Passan sees the Dodgers as the best fit here is worth tracking closely as we move toward the trade deadline.

Source(s): Jeff Passan (Fathom Journal) | First reported: June 25, 2026 9:13 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers