History shows that Tarik Skubal trade to Dodgers is good for baseball

LOS ANGELES — Sorry, but the Dodgers didn’t ruin baseball by trading for Tarik Skubal. If anything, they made the rest of this season more compelling.

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The Dodgers, trying to become the first team since the 1998-2000 Yankees to win three championships in a row, will be great theater in October. But it would be even more captivating if they get knocked off along the way.

Adding to an already powerful roster improved the odds of the Dodgers winning again. But they were one spectacular ninth-inning catch by Andy Pages away from losing Game 7 of the World Series against the Blue Jays last season.

Nothing is guaranteed in the postseason. Just ask the 2004 Yankees, who are still sore about that season.

Your complaint should not be with the Dodgers. It should be with the other contenders who didn’t step up to prevent Skubal from going to them.

The Dodgers sent the Tigers three prospects: righthanders River Ryan and Brady Smith, and outfielder Zyhir Hope. MLB Pipeline had Hope 25th and Ryan 68th on its top 100 list. Smith is not in the top 100 and ranked 17th among Dodgers prospects.

The Brewers have five players in the top 100. The Braves, Phillies, and Red Sox are among the teams with three. Skubal will make roughly $11 million the rest of the season, and every team could afford that.

The Dodgers are focused on winning, not hoarding prospects.

“Whenever there’s a star-level player that is available that can really shift championship odds, those are the moments that we’ll be more aggressive,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said on Sunday before the Red Sox beat the Dodgers, 8-4, to complete a three-game sweep.

“We’ve tried in other instances and not lined up, and others where we have. But I think being by the backboard and doing everything we can to put ourselves in the best position with the core we have right now, with the way they go about their preparation to do everything they can to win a championship.”

That ethic should be celebrated, not criticized.

The Red Sox have acted that way before. Ownership empowered Theo Epstein to build a winner after the bitter disappointment of the 2003 season. Epstein wrested Curt Schilling away from the Diamondbacks and signed him to what at the time was considered a huge three-year, $37.5 million contract extension.

Did the Red Sox ruin baseball when they finally beat the Yankees?

The Sox swung a big financial hammer again in 2015 when they hired Dave Dombrowski to run baseball operations. He signed David Price, traded for Craig Kimbrel and Chris Sale, and built a team that won 108 games in 2018 and beat the Dodgers in five games in the World Series.

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The Sox had the highest payroll that season by nearly $35 million. Baseball wasn’t ruined then, either.

It also should be pointed out that the Mets have a $370.5 million luxury tax payroll and are on pace to lose 95 games this season. It’s not just about who spends the most money. It’s how you spend that money, and the Dodgers are smart about it. It’s good for them and good for the game.

It’s not a coincidence that the Dodgers winning the last two World Series has coincided with baseball having vastly improved television ratings. National games are up 44 percent from last year.

Baseball also is gaining more viewers ages 18-34, and there’s a large increase in women viewers. The World Baseball Classic drew 10 million for the championship game.

Ballpark attendance was up 1.1 percent at the All-Star break, the fourth consecutive year of gains. The rules changes have made a huge impact, but the Dodgers are a big attraction, too.

The other owners should be careful about slowing down that money train. The Pirates averaged 30,644 fans for a three-game weekday series against the Dodgers in June.

Pittsburgh has averaged 20,610 fans in its 54 other home games this season. Excellence sells. It certainly does for the Dodgers, who are averaging 50,445.

Friedman was asked if the Dodgers are bad for baseball.

“Passionately disagree,” he said. “This is about the partnership that we have with our fans who’ve come out 50,000 large, and the passion that they have for this team.”

Friedman went on to praise the players, coaches, scouts, and analysts on his staff.

“We’re not going to be flippant about this moment in time and how special this group can be in the history of this incredibly storied organization,” he said. “We’re going to do everything we can to keep doing what we can to win the last game of the year.”

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