The discomfort was noticeable.

In his stride when he ran to second base for a double. In how he bent over and placed his hands on his knees when he tagged up to reach third base.

Shohei Ohtani was in obvious pain.

Ohtani might be determined to return to the mound this season, but how can the Dodgers watch him move the way he did on Friday night and believe they can count on him to pitch in October?

They can’t.

They can’t, which is why between now and the trade deadline on Monday, they have to strike a deal with the Detroit Tigers for Tarik Skubal.

Trading for Skubal could force the Dodgers to stretch beyond their comfort zone, but the effort would be worthwhile.

A three-peat is at stake.

Just a couple of months ago, Skubal represented a potential luxury purchase for the Dodgers. 

Ohtani was still taking regular turns in the rotation at the time. The Dodgers were optimistic that Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow would return from their respective injuries.

As upbeat as the Dodgers remain about Snell and Glasnow, Ohtani’s uncertain status has changed the equation for them. They now have too many question marks in their starting rotation.

Starting pitching is what carried the Dodgers to their second consecutive World Series championship last year, but they have to be wondering if they rely on a similar formula to win a third.

With Ohtani, Snell and Glasnow in play to rejoin Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the rotation, the Dodgers might not need Skubal to win another title.

But they also might, and the chances of them needing Skubal to survive three rounds of postseason play have only increased significantly in recent weeks.

In addition to losing Ohtani as a pitcher because of knee and biceps injuries, the Dodgers have watched their once-reliable bullpen unravel. Justin Wrobleski and Roki Sasaki are candidates to step into the playoff rotation if any of the Big Four are unavailable, but the bullpen’s downward trend could make them more valuable as relievers in October.

Because of that, the addition of Skubal could also have a massive impact on the bullpen. 

Whether the Dodgers land him will come down to his price.

With Andrew Friedman as their president of baseball operations, the Dodgers have been extremely disciplined to not overpay for players at trade deadlines.

The self-control has resulted in the marketing dictating to them what they can and can’t do. If there isn’t a deal to be made on their terms, they won’t make one, regardless of their circumstances. This explains why three years ago, they went into the postseason with a rotation consisting of a severely-injured Clayton Kershaw, an unproven Bobby Miller and a version of Lance Lynn who had nothing on the ball. They were swept in the divisional round that season by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Which doesn’t mean there aren’t deals to be made.

The last time the Dodgers acquired a rental pitcher was in 2024 when they acquired Jack Flaherty for a couple of mid-level prospects in Thayron Liranzo and Trey Sweeney. 

Three years before that, they traded for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. Scherzer was in his walk year but Turner was under club control for another season. The Dodgers paid a modest bounty for the two All-Stars, a package of four prospects including Keibert Ruiz and Josiah Gray.

The Dodgers gave up five mid- to low-level prospects in 2018 in exchange for Manny Machado. They landed Yu Davish in 2017 by sending the Texas Rangers three prospects, the most valuable of them being Willie Calhoun, who went on to become a career .241 hitter.

So, maybe history repeats itself with Skubal and the Dodgers can acquire him for Emmet Sheehan and a few future major leaguers who lack superstar potential. Something like that would be a no-brainer.

What if the deal would require them to send Wrobleski to the Tigers instead of Sheehan? 

Wrobleski is an All-Star who will be under club control for five more years. History suggests the Dodgers wouldn’t make that kind of trade.

But they should.

As much they believe in Ohtani, as optimistic as they are about Snell and Glasnow, they can’t count on everything working out for them.

Not when they consider what’s on the line.

The Dodgers might never again be in position to win a third consecutive World Series, especially with team owners determined to introduce new financial restrictions that could limit the Dodgers’ spending in the future.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They have to make a once-in-a-lifetime trade.

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