The rich indeed got richer late Saturday night when the Dodgers, the two-time defending world champions, acquired ace Tarik Skubal from the Tigers.

Los Angeles traded Zyhir Hope along with two promising young pitchers, River Ryan and Brady Smith, for the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner.

This trade enhances the Dodgers’ bullpen; before the deal, they were already installed as favorites, but now their odds are officially at +145 on FanDuel Sportsbook, with the rest of the field far behind.

After sitting at near +190 odds through the midway point of the season at the MLB All-Star break, the addition of Skubal has pushed oddsmakers to shorten the Dodgers’ price down as the club pursues a third straight championship.

The Dodgers were able to out-negotiate other World Series contenders, including the Yankees (+600 to win), Brewers (+900), and Braves (+950), to land the 29-year-old Skubal, who spent seven seasons in Detroit. 

The southpaw is slated to make his highly anticipated Dodgers debut this Tuesday as Los Angeles travels to the Windy City for a showdown with the Cubs.

Brandon Gomes continued to orchestrate some of the best deals in baseball, as Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski, and Roki Sasaki all appear to be remaining in Dodger blue and white with the deadline window closing shortly. 

On paper, their bullpen now looks extremely formidable, as it also includes reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, along with Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani.

2026 World Series odds

With October just two months away, Dave Roberts and his squad are looking to emulate the 2000 Pinstripes, aiming to become the first franchise since that era to secure a legendary World Series three-peat.

Furthermore, the unstoppable Dodgers sit tied with a league-high 69 wins and are leading the majors in team ERA and run differential entering their Sunday night matchup against the Red Sox.

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Mike Turay is a sports journalist and editor who closely follows the NBA, NFL, college sports and UFC. He has demonstrated expertise in both NBA and NFL player prop bets for nearly three years. Mike is also highly knowledgeable about the sportsbook offer landscape, frequently trying and reviewing the latest apps and sites.