Skubal, who is in the last year of his deal, was sent to L.A. for Zyhir Hope, River Ryan, and Brady Smith.

Hope, Ryan and Smith were ranked as the Tigers’ No. 2, No. 5 and No. 14 ranked prospects, respectively, prior to the deal.

The Dodgers have become the face of baseball’s big market spending boom, and that has placed them at the center of some volatile conversations about a potential Major League Baseball lockout.

A lockout is possible following the current 2026 campaign because the in-place collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on Dec. 1, and a new deal isn’t close to being signed off on.

While some fans blame the Dodgers for what could happen after the 2026 season, the reality is far more nuanced than that.

Over the last several years, the Dodgers have committed unprecedented amounts of money to star players while continuing to build one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the sport.

In adding Skubal, the deal is projected to take the Dodgers’ total tax dollar amount to $430 million with a tax bill just over $180 million, both the highest in the league by far, per Spotrac.

A distant second are the Mets, who stand at $372 million with a hefty yet slightly more forgiving tax bill worth $117 million.

That said, the Mets still have the highest payroll in baseball, which is north of $325 million, with the Dodgers behind at $311 million, and the Yankees are third at over $291 million.

According to Spotrac, 21 of the MLB’s 30 teams are under $200 million, with six not even cracking $100 million, although five of them have much better records than the 47-65 Mets.

Even after paying substantial luxury tax penalties, the Dodgers have remained willing to outbid other teams for elite talent.

That aggressive approach over the years has landed them the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Freddie Freeman, Edwin Diaz, Kyle Tucker and now Skubal.

To many smaller-market owners crying wolf, this highlights that the league’s current financial rules limit the opportunities of small-market teams.

This is despite two of the league’s four biggest spenders — the Mets and the Toronto Blue Jays — vastly underperforming record-wise when stacked up against eight of the league’s nine lowest spenders in baseball.

The competitive balance concern is fueling calls for a salary cap in baseball’s next collective bargaining agreement, which has received significant pushback from players because it will limit their earning potential, as is the case in other major leagues.

As for Skubal, he hasn’t looked in line to win another Cy Young this season but is still highly effective.

This year, Skubal’s ERA is an impressive 2.79, with 116 strikeouts through 96.2 innings pitched across 16 starts.