If you’re not a Los Angeles Dodgers fan, chances are you weren’t happy that the Detroit Tigers traded Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers.
The Dodgers were already the best team in baseball as the back-to-back defending World Series champions and entered the All-Star break with the best record in MLB. They pulled off the biggest blockbuster at the trade deadline, acquiring arguably the best pitcher in baseball in Skubal. Skubal had won the AL Cy Young Award over the past two seasons and led the American League in wins, ERA and strikeouts during the 2024 season.
While the Dodgers will obviously enter this year’s postseason as the World Series favorites, especially with the addition of Skubal, chances are is that this could be the 29-year-old’s lone season in Los Angeles. Skubal is on an expiring contract, which was a big reason why the Tigers were looking to unload him at the trade deadline to get something in return.
Nick Swisher Predicts Tarik Skubal Return to Tigers
Nick Swisher, who won a World Series with the New York Yankees during the 2009 season and was also an All-Star during the 2010 season, believes that Skubal will be spending just one season in Los Angeles before taking his talents back to the Tigers for next season.
“I just think with what the Dodgers are doing and kind of putting together a super team, one thing I do know about Skubal is he will not be signing a long-term extension with the Dodgers because that’s not what Scott Boras does,” said Swisher in a one-on-one interview. “It’s not what Scott Boras does. He takes his guys to the market. By the way, I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw Skubal in Detroit next year, just because at the end of the day he loves that place.
“He’s a rental right now, and Detroit got a lot for bringing him over, and just to be able to — he loves that place,” Swisher continued. “It wouldn’t surprise me if you see him back in Detroit again. If they have the money, he’ll be there.”
Why Tarik Skubal is Likely One-Season Rental for Dodgers
The idea of it isn’t crazy considering Skubal does love Detroit and considering he played his entire seven-season MLB career in Detroit before the Tigers traded him to the Dodgers. It’s worth noting that it’s not like the Tigers were a bad team — they’re actually just 1.5 games back of a Wild Card spot as of this writing.
The Tigers had actually been to the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, losing decisive Game 5s in the ALDS.
If Skubal were to spend just one season in Los Angeles, that would be welcome news for the rest of the MLB. The Dodgers already have arguably the best starting rotation in baseball featuring the likes of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki and Blake Snell. That’s not including Shohei Ohtani, who is currently resting from pitching for the time being.
We’ll see if the move for Skubal ends up paying off for the Dodgers, but it’s pretty clear that this could simply be a one-season rental rather than a long-term plan.
Nick Swisher Partners With Angry Orchard to Help Rec Softball Team Get Second Win
While Swisher recently had his share of fun participating in the Yankees’ annual Old Timers Day over the weekend during their series against the Atlanta Braves, he also spent some time partnering with Angry Orchard.
That’s because Swisher subbed in as a stand-in player for one of the worst recreation softball teams in America.
“One of the coolest things is being able to team up with Angry Orchard is at this moment, everybody invests in the winners, right? The one thing I love about Angry Orchard is they’re investing in the underdog,” said Swisher. “For me to be able to be out here today with the Sons of Pitches, a 1-23 team to be able to come out here and help them get their second win of the season, bro. That’s what I was here to do, man. There’s a lot of fun and frustration the whole nine, but I think just in general, just to be able to be part of all this, man, it’s awesome.”
Swisher detailed the positive enthusiasm and mindset that he brought to the team to help them get their second win.
“It was awesome,” said Swisher. “First time I got to meet the team here today. Kind of made like a little surprise cameo, little visit out here, just to be able to be part of all this. Don’t get angry, man, Get Orchard, right? At the end of the day, just know that there is so much fun to be had. Everybody goes through frustrations in life, but you can always find the fun in frustration. So I think just for general, for me, who lives his life in the optimism of the world, to be able to be out here and to help out this team and to be part of Angry Orchard, bro, it’s such an honor for me to be here.”
Ex-Yankees World Series Champ Makes Bold Tarik Skubal Prediction on Next Team