The Los Angeles Dodgers made a stunning move to acquire back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal in a blockbuster trade with the Detroit Tigers.
Both the Dodgers and Tigers confirmed the trade on X on Sunday morning. Skubal is heading to Los Angeles in exchange for three minor leaguers, including outfielder Zyhir Hope, the No. 25-ranked prospect by MLB and the Dodgers No. 5 prospect. Detroit will also acquire starting pitchers River Ryan, the team’s No. 7 prospect and Brady Smith, ranked No. 17 in the Dodgers’ minor league system.The move was first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Skubal, 29, was the biggest name on the market as arguably the league’s best starting pitcher. So far this year, he’s 7-5 with a 2.79 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 96 and 2/3 innings pitched. He sports a 0.910 WHIP and is currently holding opposing batters to a .210 average.
“I’m excited to be a Dodger,” Skubal said the night of the trade. “I’m excited to get down there and meet all those guys and chase three championships in a row. That’s hard to do, so I’m so excited to a part of that. But it’s a lot of different emotions. Definitely kind of a roller coaster a little bit.”
The lefty ace is just one of 12 big leaguers all-time to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards, a two-time MLB All-Star, the 2024 American League pitching Triple Crown winner, and a two-time All-MLB First Teamer.
His addition bolsters what was already an incredible Dodgers pitching staff, now joining the likes of fellow Cy Young winner Blake Snell, reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Emmet Sheehan, Tyler Glasnow, 2026 All-Star Justin Wrobleski, Roki Sasaki and, of course, four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani.
The Boys in Blue will now be the first team to have two of the league’s reigning MVP and Cy Young winners since the 2013 Tigers, when Miguel Cabrera and Max Scherzer took home the annual awards.
Ahead of the season, Skubal set an MLB arbitration record by earning $32 million in a February ruling. He’s due for free agency for the first time in his career at the end of the season.
He missed six weeks earlier this year due to “loose bodies” in his elbow, but returned much earlier than expected due to minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery.
“The goal was always to win a World series for the city, the organization that took a chance on me,” Skubal said. “It’s tough. I love all those guys in there. They’re some of my best friends. It’ll be though, for sure.”
Skubal is just the second pitcher ever to get traded after winning back-to-back Cy Young Awards, joining the likes of Roger Clemens when he was traded from Toronto to the New York Yankees in 1999. He’s also just one of six reigning Cy Young winners to get traded in-season, along with Justin Verlander in 2023, Cliff Lee in 2009, CC Sabathia in 2008, David Cone in 1995 and Frank Viola in 1989, according to MLB’s Sarah Langs.
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Hope, 21, is a left-handed outfielder who primarily plays in the corner positions. In 2026, he’s hitting .293 with 23 homers and 87 RBIs in 94 games in Double-A. He’s well regarded at the plate and in the field and also has considerable speed, with 18 stolen bases so far this year.
The Dodgers initially traded for Hope and starting pitcher Jackson Ferris in 2024, sending Yency Almonte and Michael Busch to the Chicago Cubs in return.
Ryan, 27, has already spent some time in the big leagues, making his debut in 2024 before undergoing Tommy John surgery after just four games. In those appearances, he had a 1.33 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 20 and 1/3 innings.
He missed the entire 2025 season, and so far this year the righty has thrown 36 and 1/3 innings in Triple-A, where he has a 4.95 ERA and 43 strikeouts.
He was initially drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2021, but was shipped to Los Angeles the next year for Matt Beaty. Ryan was ranked No. 68 on MLB’s Top 100 Prospects List before the trade was announced.
Smith, 21, was a third round pick by the Dodgers in the 2023 MLB Draft. He missed his first minor league season due to Tommy John surgery and made his debut in 2025. He’s spent all of 2026 in Single-A, where he has a 3.88 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 65 innings pitched.
The right hander was ranked as the Dodgers’ No. 17 prospect at the time of the trade.
