The Dodgers trade for Tarik Skubal
Los Angeles landed reigning two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal from Detroit at the deadline — and did it without surrendering the top tier of its farm system.
Good morning! The Dodgers spent the week telling everyone they were fine being baseball’s villain, then went out and proved it — Tarik Skubal is a Dodger. The catch: Los Angeles got swept at home by the Red Sox over the weekend anyway. Down the freeway, the Angels sold at the deadline but got a gem from Walbert Ureña to close out the weekend, the Aces gave one away in Chicago, and camps rolled on in Los Angeles and Henderson. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
⚾ Blockbuster. The Dodgers acquired Tarik Skubal from Detroit for Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith — Fredo Cervantes has the deal.
⚾ Angels sell. Los Angeles dealt José Soriano to Toronto for shortstop Arjun Nimmala and two others — Jack Janes on the return.
⚾ Ureña deals. The 22-year-old out-dueled NL Cy Young frontrunner Jacob Misiorowski in a 3-0 Angels win — Jack Janes at Angel Stadium.
⚾ Swept at home. Emmet Sheehan struggled as the Red Sox completed a sweep at Dodger Stadium — Fredo Cervantes has the recap.
🏀 One that got away. The Aces blew a fourth-quarter lead and lost 84-83 on a buzzer-beater in Chicago — Derek Hegna at Wintrust Arena.
🏈 Learn and listen. The Rams used Day 7 of camp to slow down and absorb — Eric Lambkins II at Loyola Marymount.
🏄 Emotional wins in HB. Marshall and Kerr took the 2026 Lexus U.S. Open of Surfing — Michael Silver in Huntington Beach.
✈️ Fly to Chicago. Where to stay, eat and drink this week in Chicago where the Dodgers face the Cubs and the Sparks take on the Sky after the trade deadline — read the travel guide.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — SUNDAY
⚾ MLB: Angels 3, Brewers 0 · Red Sox 8, Dodgers 4 ·Padres 5, Giants 4
⚽ NWSL: San Diego Wave 1, Washington Spirit 0
⚾ THE DODGERS CASH IN AT THE DEADLINE
Four days after Arash Markazi wrote that the Dodgers shouldn’t hesitate to go all in, they did exactly that. Los Angeles acquired reigning two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal from Detroit for outfield prospect Zyhir Hope, right-hander River Ryan and right-hander Brady Smith — and kept Emmet Sheehan and the rest of its premium young arms out of the deal. Skubal, 29, has a 2.79 ERA with 116 strikeouts and a 0.91 WHIP across 96.2 innings this season despite missing five weeks after arthroscopic elbow surgery. The arithmetic on how the Dodgers built the package is almost absurd: Hope came over in the Michael Busch trade, Ryan in the deal that sent Matt Beaty to San Diego. Los Angeles essentially turned Busch and Beaty into the best pitcher in baseball. Yoshinobu Yamamoto found out mid-interview: “I was hearing some rumors about that, but then it actually happened. I’m pretty surprised.” The rotation options now read Skubal, Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, Ohtani, Wrobleski, Sheehan and Sasaki. The weekend sweep at the hands of Boston was a reminder that games still have to be played — but nobody in the National League is feeling better this morning than the Dodgers.
GO DEEPER
› Fredo Cervantes: Dodgers acquire Tarik Skubal in blockbuster trade with Tigers (The Sporting Tribune)
› Arash Markazi: Dodgers embrace role of baseball’s ‘bad guy’ entering trade deadline (The Sporting Tribune)
› Fredo Cervantes: Emmet Sheehan struggles as Dodgers swept by Red Sox (The Sporting Tribune)
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⚾ THE ANGELS SOLD — AND THEN FOUND SOMETHING
The Angels moved right-hander José Soriano to Toronto on Monday for a package fronted by shortstop Arjun Nimmala — MLB Pipeline’s No. 43 overall prospect, slashing .280/.353/.458 in 32 Double-A games at age 20 — along with outfielder Eddie Micheletti and 19-year-old righty Angel Rivero. Soriano brought a 3.29 ERA and two more years of club control, but also a league-leading 57 walks and two Tommy John surgeries on his ledger at 27. Meanwhile, the weekend closed with a reminder of what the Angels already have. Walbert Ureña, 22, out-pitched NL Cy Young frontrunner Jacob Misiorowski with six scoreless innings in a 3-0 win, dropping his ERA to 2.58 across 18 starts since being called up April 19. “Today might have been the best game he’s pitched all year,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. Wade Meckler supplied the offense with a two-run homer — his third of the season, all off Misiorowski, Jacob deGrom and Drew Rasmussen.
GO DEEPER
› Jack Janes: Angels trade José Soriano to Blue Jays (The Sporting Tribune)
› Jack Janes: Ureña deals, Meckler’s homer lifts Angels over Brewers (The Sporting Tribune)
🏀 A GAME THE ACES SHOULD HAVE HAD
Las Vegas opened a five-game road trip in the worst way possible, coughing up a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and losing 84-83 to Chicago on Sydney Taylor’s buzzer-beating three. The Aces held the Sky to 16, 21 and 18 points through three quarters, then surrendered 29 in the fourth while scoring just 18. “This loss was completely avoidable,” Becky Hammon said. A’ja Wilson went for a game-high 36 points and a double-double, and Jackie Young added one of her own, but the supporting cast never showed up — the bench mustered five points and the team shot 5-for-22 from three. Sixteen turnovers, their most since May, did the rest. Young alone had a season-high six. “You just got to keep playing and make the easy play,” Hammon said. “I thought we didn’t make easy passes.”
GO DEEPER
› Derek Hegna: Too many mistakes doom Aces in trap game loss against Sky (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST —MONDAY, AUGUST 3
🏀 WNBA: Aces at Dream — Peacock — 4:00 p.m.
⚾ MLB: Dodgers at Cubs — SNLA — 5:05 p.m.
⚾ MLB: Padres ar Diamondbacks — Padres TV — 5:40 p.m.
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME TODAY?
Get-in prices across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawai’i— brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.
⚾ MLB: Dodgers at Cubs — Wrigley Field — $80
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Tarik Skubal joins a Dodgers rotation that already includes multiple Cy Young winners. Which Dodgers pitcher was the last to win the award before this era?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
Today’s episode breaks down the Skubal blockbuster and what it means for the Dodgers’ three-peat chase, the Angels’ deadline sell-off, and the Aces’ collapse in Chicago. Hear it on the radio across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii via Westwood One Sports, The Bet Las Vegas, Hawaii Sports Radio Network and KIRN in Los Angeles.
› Listen to the latest episode
Trivia answer: Clayton Kershaw, who won three (2011, 2013, 2014).
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