The Milwaukee Brewers made an offer for Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal at the MLB trade deadline, but their pursuit fell short of Detroit's demands. Skubal was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, while the Brewers went on to win the 2026 World Series without acquiring him.
Milwaukee's proposed package for Skubal included infield prospects Luis Peña, the Brewers' No. 2 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, and Jett Williams, their No. 10 prospect. The offer also included outfielder Josh Adamczewski, who was the Brewers' 15th-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. However, the Tigers were seeking more, specifically a top position player prospect and a starting pitcher under team control, such as Brewers right-hander Logan Henderson, which Milwaukee declined to include.
The Tigers ultimately traded Skubal to the Dodgers for outfielder Zyhir Hope, who is now Detroit's top prospect, along with pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith. Following the failed trade, the Brewers acquired starting pitcher Dustin May and left-handed reliever JoJo Romero from the St. Louis Cardinals, as well as right-handed reliever Antonio Senzatela from the Colorado Rockies.
Despite a six-week absence due to an elbow injury and subsequent surgery during the 2026 season, Skubal performed well for the Dodgers. He posted a 2.61 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and recorded 70 strikeouts over 62 innings in the regular season. In the postseason, Skubal had a 2.45 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP with 14 strikeouts in 11 innings across two starts, including an NLCS appearance against the Brewers that resulted in a 2-1 loss for Los Angeles.
Skubal, who will be 30 at the start of the 2027 season, is set to become a free agent. Should the Brewers choose to pursue him, he would join a pitching rotation that already includes Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, and Robert Gasser. In the 2026 regular season, Milwaukee's starting rotation ranked second in opponent batting average (.220), third in strikeouts (907), tied for third in WHIP (1.14), and fifth in ERA (3.61).