DETROIT, Mich. — The Detroit Tigers traded Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers late Saturday night, ending the “will they, won’t they” speculation that had followed the organization for much of the 2026 season.
Detroit landed outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-hander River Ryan and right-hander Brady Smith, according to reports from ESPN baseball insider Jeff Passan.
Skubal’s time in Detroit comes to a close with an overall record of 61-42 since making his major league debut in 2020, while holding a career ERA of 3.04 and 1.01 WHIP. The southpaw has 1005 career strikeouts across 863.1 innings, just crossing the 1000-strikeout threshold in his final start with Detroit against Baltimore on Wednesday.
A ninth-round pick in the 2018 Draft, Skubal won back-to-back Cy Young Awards in 2024 and 2025, finishing with combined numbers of 31 wins and 469 strikeouts across 387.1 innings (62 starts), coming away with a 2.30 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. He also won the American League pitching Triple Crown, finishing with the most wins, strikeouts, and best ERA amongst qualified pitchers.
Prior to 2024, Skubal hadn’t pitched more than 149.1 innings in a single season due to various injuries, and missed six weeks to have loose bodies removed from his pitching elbow earlier this season.
Skubal was part of a Major League record-setting arbitration deal in the offseason, winning his case against the Tigers in February. Heading into the final season of his contract, Skubal was awarded $32 million for the 2026 season by a three-person panel, who accepted his salary proposal as part of the arbitration proceedings. The Tigers had submitted a proposal of $19 million.
He is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2026 season. Of the three players Detroit received in its return, only River Ryan has seen any time at the Major League level, having started four games back in 2024 (1-0 record, 1.33 ERA, 18 K, 20.1 IP).