The Dodgers pulled off a blockbuster last night, acquiring two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal from the Tigers for a package of three prospects. The move takes one of the game’s best starting pitchers off the board for teams interested in rotation upgrades. With Skubal traded, those teams will now look toward Reid Detmers, José Soriano, Freddy Peralta, and others to bolster their starting five. Interested readers can find our breakdown of the Skubal trade here, as well as our list of the Top 50 Deadline Trade Candidates here.
1. Rafaela homers twice in Red Sox win
The Red Sox only had four hits to the Dodgers’ ten last night, but two of them left the yard off the bat of Ceddanne Rafaela. The 25-year-old opened the scoring with a solo shot in the first before adding another to tie the score at two runs apiece in the top of the third. Despite an otherwise dominant start by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a double play in the top of the eighth gave the Sox a 3-2 lead, which ended up being the final score. Boston has now won eight consecutive series, while Rafaela continues to cement himself as one of the best center fielders in the American League.
2. Clark hits first big league home run
Fresh off a debut in which he went 3-4 with a walk and two doubles, Tigers prospect Max Clark added another two hits against the Athletics on Saturday, including his first career home run. Facing A’s starter Jack Perkins, Clark hit a two-run shot to right center in the top of the sixth. That gave Detroit a 6-2 lead in an eventual 8-6 win. With Skubal heading to the Dodgers and four teams ahead of them in the AL Wild Card standings, the Tigers may use the last two months of the season to audition young players for extended roles in the 2027 squad. Clark, the game’s No. 13 overall prospect according to MLB.com, is certainly one of those players.
3. Follow along with MLBTR’s Trade Tracker.
In addition to the Skubal blockbuster, yesterday also saw Lane Thomas, Luis Castillo, Camilo Doval, and others change hands. Plenty of other deals are sure to follow between now and tomorrow’s 5pm Central trade deadline. If you want to find the details of each trade and keep stock of your favorite team’s acquisitions, you can do so using MLBTR’s Trade Tracker here.
Photo courtesy of Kiyoshi Mio, Imagn Images
