Jeff Passan of ESPN announced at 11:31 p.m. ET that the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Detroit Tigers were finalizing a trade for two-time AL Cy Young award winner, Tarik Skubal. The Tigers ace is bound for free agency at season’s end, and with the Tigers still a few games and numerous teams away from a playoff spot, Scott Harris and Jeff Greenberg decided it was time to cash in their ace for prospects. The deal has not been confirmed by either team as of this writing.
In return the Tigers will receive
a very good outfield prospect in 21-year-old left-handed hitter Zyhir Hope, triple digit right-handed pitcher River Ryan, and a fairly good right-handed pitching prospect in 21-year-old Brady Smith. Hope is a top 100 prospect who generally draws 55 FV grades, while Ryan was once a top shelf starting pitching prospect with great stuff, but had Tommy John surgery in August 2024, and while his stuff appears fully intact, and it is excellent power stuff, he’s dealt with some minor injuries this season.
The Tigers don’t really seem interested in pulling the plug on the 2026 season, and were expected to get a major league ready starter as part of the return for Skubal. That didn’t happen exactly, but on June 28, Ryan suffered his second hamstring injury of the season. He’s expected to return sometime in August or early September, but those injuries are often tricky, so we’ll see.
We’ll also have to see if the Tigers have more deals in mind or not. Either way, this is a good return for Tarik Skubal. Hope and Ryan are both very talented, and Smith’s stock has been rising rapidly this season. The Tigers farm system gets a pretty major upgrade here after graduating Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark this season.
