Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
The Los Angeles Dodgers traded River Ryan, Zyhir Hope and Brady Smith to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Tarik Skubal, who was the best starting pitcher available at the 2026 MLB trade deadline.
Reports of the trade first surfaced after the Dodgers’ loss to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night and the deal was made official Sunday morning. Given that the Tigers are playing in Sacramento, Skubal is expected to arrive at Dodger Stadium at some point before the Dodgers’ series finale against the Red Sox.
Skubal’s Dodgers debut presumably will take place during the first few days of their road trip that begins Monday. Skubal last pitched on July 29, going 6.2 innings in a crushing defeat for the Tigers after they led 7-0.
Who the Dodgers traded for Skubal
Zyhir Hope
After finishing the 2025 season with Double-A Tulsa, Hope had spent all of this year on the Drillers roster before getting traded.
He batted .293/.369/.530 with 17 doubles, one triple, 23 home runs and 87 RBI over 94 games. Hope was a late scratch from the Drillers lineup on Saturday, which was the first public indication the Dodgers may have been on the verge of completing trade.
Hope joined the Dodgers organization in 2024, along with Jackson Ferris, as part of a trade that sent Michael Busch and Yency Almonte to the Chicago Cubs.
Hope cemented himself as one of the Dodgers’ much-ballyhooed outfield prospects and represented the organization in the 2025 All-Star Futures Game. Hope is ranked the No. 25 prospect on the MLB Pipeline top 100 list.
River Ryan
Ryan also first joined the Dodgers farm system via trade, as he was acquired from the San Diego Padres in 2022 in exchange for Matt Beaty.
Ryan at the time was being developed as both an infielder and pitcher. He committed to pitching with the Dodgers and went on to make his MLB debut in 2024. The right-hander developed as a promising Dodgers pitching prospect but was thrown off course by needing Tommy John surgery in 2024.
That resulted in missing all of last year and Ryan has been limited by multiple hamstring injuries this season. Dodgers front office personnel nevertheless continued to mention Ryan as a candidate who would make an impact come October.
In five Minor League seasons with the Dodgers, Ryan went 6-12 with a 3.43 ERA and 255 strikeouts in 212.2 innings pitched.
Brady Smith
Smith was drafted by the Dodgers in the third round of the 2023 MLB Draft.
The right-hander split this season between Low-A Ontario and High-A Great Lakes, going a combined 0-7 with a 4.36 ERA.
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