The Detroit Tigers sent left-handed ace Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Skubal is a free agent after this season, and Detroit is under .500. But even considering all that, trading away the 2024 and 2025 Cy Young Award winner couldn't have been easy. The Tigers will be judged on how the three prospects they acquired — Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith — perform. History shows that it's possible to come out OK when trading a pitcher of Skubal's caliber, but there are plenty of teams who got little in return.
Here are eight other instances when a reigning Cy Young winner was traded before the end of the following season (hat tip to Baseball Reference for the transaction recaps):
— Frank Viola, Minnesota to New York Mets, 1989: Among the players Minnesota received for Viola were Rick Aguilera and Kevin Tapani. The former would save 42 games and the latter would win 16 in 1991, when the Twins won the World Series. Viola wasn't a rental — after finishing the 1989 season in New York, he went 20-8 in 1990 for the Mets. But New York never made the postseason with him.
— David Cone, Kansas City to Toronto to New York Yankees, 1995: Cone was actually traded twice the year after his Cy Young season in Kansas City. Toronto acquired him for Chris Stynes and two players who never made the majors. When the Blue Jays floundered, they dealt Cone — in the final year of his contract — to the Yankees for Marty Janzen and two players who never made the majors.
— Pedro Martinez, Montreal to Boston, 1997: Ouch. Montreal knew what it had in Martinez, but he was entering his walk year so the Expos traded him shortly after the '97 season for Carl Pavano and Tony Armas. Boston was able to keep him long term, and in 1999 and 2000, he turned in one of the best two-year pitching stretches in the live ball era: 23-4 with a 2.07 ERA, followed by 18-6 with a 1.74 ERA.
MLB trade deadline: Phillies add Luis Arraez as table-setter for Harper and Schwarber. Phillies beef up lineup with 3-time NL batting champion Luis Arraez from San Francisco. Braves look to bolster rotation depth by acquiring right-hander Tyler Mahle from Giants.