The Milwaukee Brewers swept the Los Angeles Dodgers out of the National League Championship Series on Thursday night, ending Los Angeles’ bid for a three-peat and sending starting pitcher Tarik Skubal into free agency this winter. That answers the question Detroit has carried since the deadline: the Tigers won the Tarik Skubal trade.
The Dodgers acquired Skubal from the Detroit Tigers near the MLB trade deadline for outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-handed pitcher River Ryan and right-handed pitcher Brady Smith. It was a rental, and the rental ended one series short of the World Series. Skubal is the top free agent on this winter’s market, per CBS Sports. Detroit keeps everything it got back.
Skubal was still excellent. It did not save the Dodgers
In 16 starts with Detroit, Skubal pitched 96.2 innings and gave up 74 hits and 33 runs. He walked 14 batters and struck out 116. His WHIP was 0.91, and he went 7-5 with a 2.79 ERA.
With the Dodgers, Skubal made 10 starts. He went 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA, worked 62.0 innings and gave up 52 hits and 19 runs. He walked 13 batters and struck out 70, and his WHIP was 1.05.
Put the two halves together and it is 26 starts, a 12-7 record, a 2.72 ERA and 186 strikeouts in 158.2 innings. It was also the shortest season Skubal has pitched since 2023, because elbow surgery cost him every start between April 29 and June 13.
Zyhir Hope is why Detroit wins this trade
Hope was the headline piece. MLB Pipeline ranked him No. 25 overall and No. 5 in the Dodgers’ system at the time of the deal, and he slotted in as Detroit’s No. 2 prospect. Ryan was No. 68 overall and became Detroit’s No. 5 prospect, with Smith at No. 12.
Hope spent all of 2026 at Double-A: 94 games with the Tulsa Drillers before the trade, 30 with the Erie SeaWolves after it. Across 124 games he hit .287 with 29 home runs and 111 RBIs, stole 26 bases in 32 tries, and posted a .367 on-base percentage, a .513 slugging percentage and an .880 OPS. He is 21 years old.
That is a left-handed bat who could share an outfield with Riley Greene and Max Clark in 2027. Clark made his major league debut on July 31, and shortstop Kevin McGonigle debuted on March 26, so the young core Hope is joining is already in Detroit.
River Ryan is the lottery ticket in the Tarik Skubal trade
Ryan pitched twice for the Tigers in 2026. He went 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA, worked 4.1 innings and gave up five hits and two runs, with three walks, six strikeouts and a 1.85 WHIP. That is 13 outs, which is a sample and not a verdict.
Ryan is 28 and has appeared in only six big league games: four for the Dodgers in 2024 and two for Detroit this year. He could open 2027 in the rotation, though the Tigers have free agent arms on their winter list as well. He will need to be better.
If Skubal leaves, Los Angeles rented one NLCS run
The Dodgers still have one of the best farm systems in baseball, and they kept the piece that would have made this trade sting: outfielder Josue De Paula, MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 overall prospect, who reached the majors in September.
If Skubal signs elsewhere this winter, though, Los Angeles traded a top-25 prospect, a top-70 prospect and a third arm for 10 regular season starts and a four-game sweep. Detroit finished 76-86 and missed the postseason, which is the cost the Tigers accepted. They still have Hope, Ryan and Smith, and the pitcher they traded is about to belong to somebody else.