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By Cameron Kiszla
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The MLB superstar involved in the biggest trade of the deadline is making his debut with his new team on Tuesday.
Pitcher Tarik Skubal, a longtime Detroit Tiger, is now a Los Angeles Dodger, and he'll take the mound for the first time as a Dodger in Tuesday's game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
While Dodgers fans are certainly excited to see what their newest pitcher can do, the rest of baseball is likely asking if the Boys in Blue have finally gone too far.
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Are the Dodgers ruining baseball?
Skubal's addition to the Dodgers creates perhaps the best pitching rotation in baseball, and it increases the odds even further that the overwhelming favorites to win their third World Series in a row pull off the three-peat.
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However, the acquisition of Skubal, who has won the past two American League Cy Young Awards, also reinforces the popular belief that the Dodgers can buy any player they want.
In the Dodgers' defense, this isn't a matter of buying a player. Instead, it's considered more of a "rental," as Skubal's contract ends after this season, and at that point, any team can sign him.
Skubal even said as much in his first remarks as a Dodger.
“Every team could trade for me,” he said, as reported by Jesse Rogers of ESPN. “I don’t sympathize with people that blame the Dodgers for anything they’ve done. It’s a winning org…I really don’t sympathize with people that are complaining because the Dodgers do all the right things.”
Where non-Dodgers fans see the larger issue is that the Dodgers only had to give up three prospects — River Ryan, Zyhir Hope and Brady Smith — to land Skubal.
Some claim that the Dodgers both spending more on salaries than almost anyone and having a farm system full of top-tier prospects is unfair.
MLB owners and many fans support the idea of a salary cap as a way to restore competitive balance, but that won't be considered until after the season, when the league and players union negotiate the collective bargaining agreement.
So in the meantime, it appears the Dodgers are fully pressing every advantage they have to build the most World Series-ready team they can after two back-to-back championships and three in six years.
We'll see in October if the Dodgers' move was worth the outcry from the rest of baseball.
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