The China Mail - Dodgers land Tigers pitching ace Skubal in MLB trade deadline blockbuster

Skubal struggled to keep his emotions in check when he spoke to reporters after the Tigers' game against the Athletics in Sacramento on Saturday night.

"Going into the season, this isn't what I planned on doing," Skubal said. "But circumstances change, situations change. I'm very appreciative of everything that the Tigers have done for me.

"Drafting me in 2018, giving a kid a chance out of a small school and giving me every resource to use. Everything has always been at my disposal. They've always had answers and a plan for me, so yeah -- I feel like I've experienced a lot and gone through a lot of failure early in my career, and this club never stopped believing in me. They kept throwing me back out there every fifth day when I probably didn't deserve it. That's something I'll never take for granted."

Speculation that the flagging Tigers would trade Skubal had circulated for weeks and the Dodgers pounced on the opportunity to bolster their bid for a third straight World Series title.

Skubal, 29, will headline an already outstanding pitching rotation that features Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani along with Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow.

His arrival comes as two-way star Ohtani copes with a nagging knee injury that has kept him off the mound since July 3.

"I'm excited to be a Dodger," Skubal said. "I'm excited to get down there and meet all those guys and chase three championships in a row. It's hard to do, so I'm excited to be a part of that.

Skubal is the first reigning Cy Young Award winner to be traded in-season since Justin Verlander in 2023.

In 16 starts this season, he has a 2.79 earned-run-average with 116 strikeouts and 14 walks.

The Tigers, who entered Saturday with a 52-58 record, reportedly will receive a trio of prospects in the deal -- outfielder Zyhir Hope and pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith.

E.Choi--ThChM