LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts never feels good after getting swept, but Sunday might have been an exception. How else can you really feel less than 24 hours after finding out the your team just traded for Tarik Skubal?
“That’s a silver lining, I guess,” Roberts said after the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ 8-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
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Moments after Saturday’s 3-2 loss, ESPN’s Jeff Passan dropped his biggest bomb of the trade deadline: the Dodgers were acquiring Skubal from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith. The price was steep — Hope and Ryan are MLB Pipeline’s No. 25- and 68-ranked prospects, while Smith was No. 17 on the Dodgers’ top 30 prospects list — but not one that president of baseball operations couldn’t afford.
And after spending almost all of July downplaying his pursuit of the reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young winner, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said negotiations started picking up on Friday before he eventually pulled the trigger on Saturday night, adding the best pitcher in baseball to a rotation that (when healthy) consists of 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani.
“As we’ve talked about a lot, whenever there’s a star-level player that is available that can really shift championship odds, those are the moments that we’ll be more aggressive,” Friedman said. “… With the core we have right now, with the way they go about their preparation to do everything they can to win a championship, when we can add to that and enhance our chances, we’re going to be aggressive to do so.”
Friedman has shown the willingness to do this before, like in 2017 when he traded for Yu Darvish or when he traded for Manny Machado the following year. Both of them ended up contributing to pennant runs. In 2021, he landed Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals in a blockbuster deal.
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This year, as Roberts put it, “it was Skubal or nothing.”
The Dodgers’ clubhouse had mostly cleared out when news broke of the trade. Edwin Díaz was on his way back home when he saw it on social media and began talking about it with his driver. Jack Dreyer was watching the drone show on the field with his wife and daughters when he felt his phone start buzzing nonstop.
“And then I saw it and it was like, ‘wow,'” Dreyer told USA TODAY Sports. “Super pumped, like very excited obviously. Any time you can go out and get a talent like that to bolster the pitching staff leading into the end of the season and the postseason, it’s really exciting.”
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When Miguel Rojas walked into the clubhouse, he noticed most of the guys on their phones, showing each other their screens as news quickly spread about their newest teammate. Rojas was surprised at first, but in a way, he really wasn’t.
Just a few days prior in a position players meeting, Roberts emphasized his focus on wanting to win this year. 2024 and 2025 no longer matter; the Dodgers are all-in on trying to become the first team in National League history to three-peat.
“It’s a statement from this organization to the rest of the league and the world that they’re not just satisfied with what happened the last couple of years,” Rojas said. “… And for the front office to go out there and land that punch is really impressive.”
Freddie Freeman hit a walkoff grand slam on a bum ankle in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series. Shohei Ohtani played that same series on a dislocated shoulder. Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw two complete games in the 2025 postseason, one of them in Game 2 the World Series, then threw 96 pitches in Game 6 before taking the mound again one day later and closing out the Blue Jays.
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So when Friedman makes a move like trading for Skubal, that tells the clubhouse that he’s just as committed to winning as they are. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to put the team in the best position to win a championship. Just like they are.
“I think that speaks to the culture of the Dodgers,” Dreyer told USA TODAY Sports. “Not only do we have really good players, but we have the best front office. We have the best scouts, the best player development. The best at every single level. So, it doesn’t really matter who you are within the organization; as long as you know your role and do it to the best of your ability, you belong here.”
Dreyer added that he’s looking forward to seeing how Skubal goes about his preparation and the learning opportunity that comes with watching his routine behind the scenes.
Skubal arrived at Dodger Stadium during Sunday’s game and made his first appearance in the dugout before the sixth inning, dapping up his new teammates and acquainting himself with Roberts as he wore the interlocking LA hat for the first time. He’ll likely make his debut Tuesday, Aug. 4 in Chicago.
The Dodgers are on pace to win more than 100 games for the third time this decade. That was the case without Skubal. With him now in the fold, and both Snell and Glasnow nearing returns from their respective injuries, they seem more primed than ever to make their push for history in October.
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Legendary Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plashcke asked Roberts if he feels unbeatable.
“We gotta play well,” Roberts said. “Baseball’s baseball. We gotta play the games, but I like our club.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘It was Skubal or nothing’: Dodgers react to bombshell trade for Cy Young winner
