Tarik Skubal choked back tears as he answered questions one final time while wearing his Detroit Tigers gear.
The emotion from Skubal was clear at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California, less than a few hours after news broke he had been traded in a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers late Saturday, Aug. 1, for Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith in the middle of the Tigers' 8-6 win over the Athletics
.Skubal answered questions, spoke about some players on the Tigers being his "best friends," but paused for 15 seconds after being asked again about joining the Dodgers with a shot at a historic third consecutive World Series championship.
"Sorry," he said, his voice trailing off as he parsed his lips and rubbed his face with his right
hand.
"Yea it's exciting. I'm excited. They got a good group, you hear everything across the way. I'm excited though."
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Here's what Skubal said in a video shared on ESPN.
[ Tarik Skubal leaves Detroit for LA with a legacy that's messy, human and real ]
Breaking: The Los Angeles Dodgers are acquiring Tarik Skubal for outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-hander River Ryan and right-hander Brady Smith, sources tell @JeffPassan. pic.twitter.com/766YXsVg1S
— ESPN (@espn) August 2, 2026
Tarik Skubal GETS EMOTIONAL after trade to the Dodgers (📹ESPN) pic.twitter.com/Heo0egmQs0
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) August 2, 2026
On joining Dodgers in trade
"At this time I'm excited to be a Dodger. I'm excited to get down there and meet those guys. Chase three championships in a row. You know it's hard to do, so I am excited to be a part of that, but it's a lot of different emotions. Definitely kind of a roller-coaster a little bit."
On being unable to finish Tigers' mission
"Very tough. All offseason – ever since the 2024 Game 5 [against Cleveland], the failure that I experienced on the mound. I've used that as fuel to try to bring a World Series to the city of Detroit. I truly did. That whole offseason I've never been motivated and then go in and we lose Game 5 again [2025 to Seattle]. That failure kind of sparked some more motivation just to dig deeper and see how good you can truly be. The goal was always to win a World Series for this city, for the organization that took a chance on me so it's tough, I love all these guys. They are some of my best friends. Yeah, that'll be tough for sure."
Skubal and the Dodgers (69-42) will visit Detroit and Comerica Park in four weeks, Aug. 28-30. That'll be fun.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal holds back tears as he reacts to Tigers trade to Dodgers
