It's been less than a week since the Dodgers pulled off the biggest swing of the 2026 trade deadline, sending outfielder Zyhir Hope and pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith to Detroit for two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. The deal came together fast over the weekend of August 1-2, and by Tuesday Skubal was already on a mound at Wrigley Field in Dodger blue. Now he's sitting down with Pardon My Take to actually process what just happened to his career.
Skubal joins the PMT desk with a framed Tigers jersey still hanging behind him as the hosts preview an episode that also features NFL great Ryan Kalil and a zoologist from the Brookfield Zoo.
Skubal spent his entire career to this point in Detroit, developing into the game's best pitcher and the face of a Tigers rebuild that finally had fans believing again. Getting traded mid-season, even to a two-time defending champion loaded with talent, isn't the same as signing somewhere in free agency. You don't get to plan the goodbye. Reportedly, Skubal told the Pardon My Take crew he'd love to return to Detroit down the line and that he hopes those extension talks can pick back up once the Dodgers' season is over.
Skubal talks through how hard it was to leave Detroit, with the framed Tigers jersey from the wall behind him underscoring just how much the city meant to him.
The trade itself moved at deadline speed. As of Friday, Detroit hadn't even had serious trade conversations with other teams about Skubal — then the weekend hit and the Dodgers emerged as the clear favorite over the Yankees, Braves, Brewers, Rays, Cubs and Phillies. ESPN's Kiley McDaniel graded the return an 8.5 out of 10 for Detroit, calling it about as good as the Tigers could've realistically gotten. For the Dodgers, it means Skubal now slots into a rotation with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, pitching alongside Shohei Ohtani as LA chases a third straight title.
That debut didn't go the way anyone in LA hoped — Skubal struck out 6 over 6 innings at Wrigley but the Dodgers dropped the game 5-1, their fifth straight loss. Still, the stuff was undeniably there, and it's easy to see why the Dodgers were willing to give up three prospects for a rental that could walk in free agency this winter.
Skubal, still framed by that Tigers jersey, explains he had no real idea where he was going to end up until the trade actually came together.
What makes this a good PMT get isn't just the trade — it's the timing. Skubal is talking about this within days of it actually happening, still raw, still processing a move that could define the back half of his prime. Whatever happens with his free agency this offseason, this is the version of the story worth hearing: not the highlight reel, but the guy who framed his own jersey and had to say goodbye to it.