Tarik Skubal: Here’s How Close the Brewers Came to Signing Him

When the Dodgers acquired Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline, many—including me—criticized the Brewers for not doing the same.

Time has ultimately proven them right, as they defeated Skubal's Dodgers in the playoffs before recently claiming the championship.

But at the time, we didn't know if they'd missed their chance to achieve something great.

How hard did they try to deviate from their usual plans to land a big-name player? Hard enough that they came close.

Curt Anderson and Andy McCullough (The Athletic) report that the Brewers made a competitive offer to the Tigers for the pitcher.

Luis Pena, Jett Williams, and Josh Adamczewski were part of the trade. It was considered a fairly competitive offer.

The Brewers thought they were getting Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline until they didn't hear back from the Tigers and then saw that Zyhir Hope had been scratched from a Double-A game, per @ByMcCullough.

The news was a blow to the Milwaukee clubhouse, where players had begun envisioning… pic.twitter.com/kZtcySc61x

— Punchoutpitch (@Punchoutpitch) October 29, 2026

But since the Tigers wanted reinforcements on the mound and the Brewers didn't want to part with Logan Henderson, L.A. came out on top.

Zyhir Hope and pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith headed to Michigan at the trade deadline.

Since the Brewers had made an offer and hadn't heard back, they thought their offer was giving the folks in Detroit pause.

It wasn't until they learned that Hope had been pulled from his AA game that they realized L.A. had won out.

But it's also important to note that, in the Brewers' locker room, the guys thought they had a shot. They were holding their breath.

When they found out it wasn't going to happen, the players were disappointed, which proves they had high hopes. But at least Pat Murphy managed to smooth things over.

“We have enough good players here. We don't need any more.” – Pat Murphy to his guys

Obviously, no one thinks Milwaukee will have a chance to sign him this winter since his contract will be exorbitant.

But as for 2026, things have turned out well for the Brewers.

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