Tigers fans shouldn't buy Dodgers' exec's trade deadline plan for a second

Both Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said that their active 2024-25 offseason was a way of getting ahead. Front-load the work, give themselves a break at the trade deadline.

And the Dodgers did have a relatively quiet trade deadline last year. They made a weird three-team deal with the Rays and Reds that netted catcher Ben Rortvedt, but biggest move was arguably sending Dustin May to the Red Sox in exchange for two prospects.

During an appearance on Dodgers Territory, Friedman said more of the same for this year's trade deadline: "We want to do everything we can to stay out of the buy side market in July."

Does that means that Tigers fans can relax a little on the possibility that the Dodgers check in about Tarik Skubal at the deadline? Absolutely not.

Even though they didn't manage to pull it off, the Dodgers were reportedly in deep discussions with the Guardians about a Steven Kwan trade, which easily would've been the biggest move of the deadline.

The Dodgers are never to be trusted, and Tigers fans shouldn't buy what Friedman is trying to sell.

Dodgers can't be ruled out of a Tarik Skubal trade attempt at the deadline despite exec's insistence

The chances that a Dodgers starter is grievously injured by the Aug. 3 trade deadline are very high, given their track record. They can't keep pitchers healthy, and Blake Snell is already looking like he might not be ready by Opening Day. All it'll take is a 60-day IL stint — or maybe even 15-day with a murky timeline to return — for any of their starters around the deadline for the Dodgers to come knocking on the Tigers' door.

The Dodgers will stop at absolutely nothing to have a fully healthy rotation by October. The stars aligned for them last year — everyone except Yoshinobu Yamamoto spent time on the IL or otherwise couldn't pitch until the summer before they were all healthy for the postseason — but they might not get so lucky again.

If the Tigers are well on their way to securing a postseason spot by early August, trading Skubal would be a potentially fatal mistake for their World Series hopes. But if the Dodgers are down a starter by then, their desperation level will be through the roof. Not only will they be talking to Scott Harris about Skubal, they might be willing to give up untold amounts for just two months and a postseason with Skubal in LA.