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The back-to-back reigning World Series champions are acquiring the American League’s back-to-back reigning Cy Young Award winner, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers one more elite player in their quest to cement a dynasty.

Tarik Skubal, the most coveted pitcher at this year’s MLB trade deadline, is headed to the Dodgers after they agreed to a trade with the Detroit Tigers on Saturday evening, league sources told The Athletic. In return, the Tigers are set to receive three prospects once the trade is finalized: right-hander River Ryan, right-hander Brady Smith and outfielder Zyhir Hope.

The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet official.

Skubal is one of the most fearsome pitchers in the sport. Once a ninth-round pick out of Seattle University, he blossomed from obscurity into stardom over the course of his time with the Tigers, and the 29-year-old ace now boasts a rare combination of power and command.

Skubal throws an upper-90s fastball that is capable of reaching triple digits. His best pitch is his changeup, an offering that generated a 48.6 percent whiff rate in 2025. He also throws a sinker, slider and curveball, all of which can be potent pitches when Skubal is on.

Should we crown the Dodgers following the Skubal trade?

Derek VanRiper and Eno Sarris

What it means for the Dodgers

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s star-chasing has largely come during the winter in recent years, with the longtime executive bemoaning the high price of acquiring players midseason. This, however, is still the same executive who has spun deadline deals for Trea Turner, Max Scherzer, Manny Machado and Yu Darvish during his time running the Dodgers’ dynasty.

Los Angeles could never be ruled out.

“There just aren’t that many star-level players in the game,” Friedman said recently. “Any time one is available, we’re always going to participate in those conversations.”

Like Darvish, Machado and Scherzer, Skubal represents an extravagant rental. He might be the only needle-mover available this summer, and with the Dodgers looking to become the first National League club to win three consecutive World Series, Skubal was worth the risk.

The Dodgers could boast one of the game’s most frightening rotations this October with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow all in the same roles they had during the team’s 2025 championship run. While three of those four are not pitching (Ohtani has a left knee issue, Snell is coming off elbow surgery and Glasnow missed months with back spasms), all three are expected to return before October.

Now they have Skubal, too.

Maybe it’s overkill. But with the Dodgers seeking history before baseball’s expected lockout this winter, they managed to pull it off. — Fabian Ardaya, Dodgers reporter

Skubal’s eventful year

Skubal’s season has already been a whirlwind. He set an arbitration record when a panel awarded him $32 million before spring training. In the World Baseball Classic, Skubal was at the center of controversy when he pitched one game for Team USA, then hinted he wanted to keep going, then ultimately chose not to pitch again. Skubal later missed more than a month early this season after a procedure to remove a loose body from his left elbow. The Nanoneedle procedure performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache was the first of its kind on an MLB pitcher and got Skubal back to the field much quicker than the 2-3 month timeline first projected.

Skubal previously had Tommy John surgery in college and underwent a flexor tendon repair in 2022. But since his return midway through the 2023 season, he has been among the most elite pitchers in all of baseball.

The Skubal trade comes amid a disappointing season for the Tigers, who entered Saturday with a 52-58 record. Although the Tigers remain within striking distance of a playoff spot in a weak American League, injuries and underperformance combined to create a circumstance where they arguably had little choice but to trade one of the best pitchers in franchise history.

In Ryan, the Tigers get a major league-ready arm who could backfill Skubal’s rotation spot once the 27-year-old returns from a hamstring injury. In Hope, 21, they get a high-upside outfielder, and in Smith, 21, they get another right-hander with a well-rounded arsenal.

In 2024 and 2025, the Tigers lost in back-to-back American League Division Series Game 5s, both with Skubal on the mound.

Skubal is a free agent after this season and could command a record contract for a starting pitcher. But first, he will look to win a ring with his new team, which has some experience in that department. — Cody Stavenhagen, Tigers reporter

What the Tigers got in return

The Dodgers initially acquired Hope in January 2024 as a template for how the organization hopes to keep its farm system going, flipping a blocked prospect in Michael Busch (and reliever Yency Almonte) to the Chicago Cubs for Hope and left-hander Jackson Ferris to inject upside into the lower levels of their minor-league system.

Hope was billed as a high-upside outfield prospect out of high school, and did nothing but hit after arriving in the Dodgers’ system. As part of the Dodgers’ vaunted Double-A outfield, Hope had an .899 OPS through his first 425 plate appearances, boosting his contact rates and showcasing premium power from the left side to go with speed on the defensive end. While his glove likely will be restricted to a corner outfield spot, Hope checked in as the No. 26 prospect in baseball in Keith Law’s updated midseason rankings.

For as touted as Hope is, the Dodgers’ robust minor-league outfield depth allowed them to capitalize on his value. As The Athletic reported last week, Hope was the prospect the Dodgers felt most comfortable moving. With Josue De Paula, Eduardo Quintero and Mike Sirota (all top-100 prospects) also rising through the upper levels of Los Angeles’ farm system, Hope became expendable.

As for Ryan, injuries have plagued most of his career. But he remained one of the most tantalizing arms in the Dodgers’ system, despite being less than two weeks away from his 28th birthday.

With a fastball that averages triple digits, Ryan was identified in the spring as a pitcher Friedman was most excited to see in the majors this year. But two separate hamstring injuries hampered any chance of a call-up for Ryan, who is also nearly two years past Tommy John surgery.

Ryan represents the high-ceiling, controllable starting pitching prospect the Tigers were coveting for Skubal. He is not eligible for arbitration until 2028 and won’t be a free agent until 2031. Though his injury history is a concern, he was regarded as having some of the highest upside in a well-regarded Dodgers’ system. — Katie Woo, Dodgers reporter