The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ interest in Tarik Skubal emerged as the MLB’s worst kept secret for the 2026 deadline. Many across the league knew the Detroit Tigers left-handed pitcher would join a contender. But still, the MLB Trade Deadline move sparked multiple reactions.
Including from a young pitcher throwing for an aspiring contender aiming to topple the Dodgers.
While this 25-year-old saluted LA for luring in Skubal in a wild trade market, he didn’t hesitate to fire off confidence in the lineup he’s in.
The Opposing Pitcher Who Commented on Tarik Skubal, Dodgers Deal
The New York Yankees roll with Cam Schlittler, Max Fried and Gerrit Cole on the mound as a three-headed rotation. But Carlos Rodón adds to it if he’s healthy.
Of the four, Schlittler rose as the one liking the Yankees’ rotation. Even amid LA landing Skubal in the blockbuster deal.
“I think we have a great rotation,” Schlittler said to Greg Joyce of the New York Post after the trade deadline move. “Good for [the Dodgers], really. I don’t really have an opinion on it. I don’t really care that much. Good for them. We still got a job to do. Got a lot to focus on before even worrying about playing that team again.”
Yet MLB fans likely want a rematch of LA versus New York. Schlittler wasn’t on the Yankees team that fell 4-1 in the 2024 series. But his presence has lifted New York to a current 64-51 mark this season. He’s not shying from staying confident in how NYY’s lineup matches up with the Dodgers.
“I still like our chances, fully healthy, against a lineup like that and a rotation like that. I don’t know anything about the prospects really, but yeah, good for the Dodgers, I guess,” Schlittler said.
Who Wasn’t Surprised Tarik Skubal Fell to Dodgers
This one in particular, who faced LA in that recent World Series, wasn’t colored shocked. Even after he got asked his personal thoughts on Skubal joining Dodger Blue.
Count past Dodgers rival and New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone as one reacting to the move after it went down.
“Not shocked,” Boone said via the New York Post following the deadline deal. “You knew Skubal, it seemed like he was available the last few days. So not shocked, knowing the system the Dodgers had.”
Boone joins the rest of the league in battling that said system out in LA. The past World Series winner as a Yankees player sees how president Andrew Friedman and manager Dave Roberts are able to build a super team in Southern California.
Boone, though, played on a Yankees team that created a previously similar formula during the 2000s. New York under “The Boss” George Steinbrenner lured in major names like Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, even old Boston Red Sox rival Johnny Damon.
Did Dodgers Fend Off Yankees for Tarik Skubal?
Multiple teams threw themselves into the running for the past Cy Young winning pitcher. Not just limited to the Dodgers.
The Yankees surfaced in the race too, per the NY Post.
“The Yankees’ biggest need is bats, but in a market not flush with difference-making hitters, they could have hammered a strength by upgrading their rotation,” wrote Greg Joyce of the Post.
New York struggled to pull it off. Now the Dodgers are the trending favorite to become the first MLB franchise since the Yankees to three-peat with Skubal on board.
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