The Detroit Tigers got a haul by trading their ace pitcher – right?
MLB experts don't necessarily agree.
The Tigers traded ace pitcher Tarik Skubal
to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, Aug. 1, for a package of three prospects: outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-handed pitcher River Ryan and right-handed pitcher Brady Smith. Per MLB Pipeline, they were the No. 5, 7 and 17 prospects in the Dodgers' organization, respectively.The Tigers likely would have gotten a better package had they traded Skubal before the start of the 2026 season, though as it stands, this will likely be the most valued trade return any seller will get at the deadline. But many MLB analysts are still crowning the Dodgers the clear winners in this trade, with varying analysis on how
the Tigers made out in their biggest trade in years.
Here's a roundup of trade grades from some of MLB's top experts:
Detroit Free Press: B
Our Ryan Ford was fairly kind to the hometown team, calling this the "best return the Tigers could get for Skubal" in his instant analysis.
"The gem of the deal is outfield Zyhir Hope, who has crushed it as a 21-year-old in Double-A: 23 homers and 17 doubles while hitting .293 in 94 games," he wrote. "But that’s after just 13 homers last season, spent with the High-A Great Lakes Loons and Double-A Tulsa. As a 20-year-old."
The Athletic: B
The Athletic's Zack Meisel marveled at the Dodgers' "embarrassment of riches" in his analysis of the trade but wondered if the Tigers still might be good enough to contend in 2026, even without Skubal.
"Zyhir Hope could blossom into a star outfielder. And so could Eduardo Quintero, Mike Sirota, Josue De Paula, James Tibbs III and Charles Davalan — five other Dodgers outfield prospects who all cracked Keith Law’s recent top-70 prospects list," he wrote. "For the Tigers, a timid offseason and a sluggish first couple of months doomed them and made this feel inevitable. In the wide-open American League, maybe they can still hang around."
Fox Sports: C+
Fox's Rowan Kavner also praised the Dodgers for once again landing the best player at the deadline but also gave some faint praise to Detroit.
"To be clear, it’s not that this is a bad return," he wrote. "But, even for a rental, I expected more. This is Tarik Skubal we’re talking about. Brewers? Rays? Braves? Where you at?"
Sports Illustrated: C
SI's Ryan Phillips hammered the Tigers, not for the trade return, but for putting themselves in this position by failing to lock up Skubal before the season started.
"Detroit severely lowballed Skubal during discussions about a long-term extension. And this offseason, it only offered him $19 million in arbitration, which was, frankly, insulting," he wrote. "In the end, Skubal won his arbitration case for a record $32 million. There was no coming back. They should have traded him at that point instead of waiting for the deadline and taking a smaller return."
ESPN: D
ESPN's Bradford Doolittle called the deal a "bad dream" for the Tigers, though noted there was only so much the Tigers could extract from a team with Skubal on an expiring deal.
"Still, from the Tigers' perspective, it feels as if they could have waited longer before calling it a deal. We are still more than a day from the deadline, after all, and sometimes, teams get a little aggressive as the clock ticks down," he wrote. "Could the Tigers have gotten more if they had leveraged that? Alas, we will never know."
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal trade grade roundup as MLB experts blast Detroit Tigers
