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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts joked that MLB would “go ballistic” if the team somehow managed to trade for Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, per Bob Nightengale at USA Today. The comment was made in a lighthearted context, but it speaks to the broader conversation around the Dodgers and their never-ending appetite for elite talent — and the league’s increasing unease with how much of it they’ve already stockpiled.

Skubal has established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball. The left-hander won the American League Cy Young Award in 2024 after a dominant season with Detroit, posting a 2.39 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, and 228 strikeouts in 192 innings. He’s the kind of front-of-the-rotation arm every contender dreams about, and at 29 years old, he’s right in his prime. The Tigers have built around him as a cornerstone, but Detroit’s trajectory — and whether they’re truly ready to compete — always fuels speculation about whether they’d entertain offers for their best player. Skubal’s contract situation only adds to the intrigue; he’s cost-controlled enough to be enormously valuable in a trade, which is exactly why the price tag would be astronomical.

Roberts clearly understands the optics. The Dodgers have already added Shohei Ohtani, assembled a roster that reads like an All-Star Game ballot, and operate with a payroll that dwarfs most of the league. Trading for a reigning Cy Young winner on top of all that would be, to borrow Roberts’ word, enough to make the rest of baseball lose its collective mind. There’s a reason he framed it as a joke — even floating the idea publicly would set off alarms from the commissioner’s office to every other front office in the sport.

That said, let’s be real about what this is and what it isn’t. There’s no indication the Dodgers are actively pursuing Skubal or that Detroit has any interest in moving him. This was Roberts riffing, not Andrew Friedman leaking a trade target. The Tigers would demand a package that would gut even the Dodgers’ deep farm system, and the political fallout alone would be significant. MLB’s competitive balance concerns aren’t going away, and a move like this would pour gasoline on that fire.

Still, the fact that it even comes up — even as a joke — tells you everything about where this franchise sits right now. The Dodgers are the team every other club measures itself against, and adding a pitcher of Skubal’s caliber isn’t some fantasy scenario. It’s the kind of move this front office has shown it’s capable of making. I wouldn’t hold my breath on this one, but I also wouldn’t put anything past Friedman and company. For now, file this under entertaining offhand comments from the manager — but keep one eye on the trade market as we get deeper into the summer.

Source(s): Bob Nightengale (USA Today) | First reported: June 4, 2026 6:11 AM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers