The Los Angeles Dodgers gave a big boost to their chances at a three-peat by acquiring two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal in a blockbuster trade with the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night ahead of Monday’s MLB trade deadline. Los Angeles sent three prospects to Detroit: outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-handed pitcher River Ryan, and right-handed pitcher Brady Smith.
Shortly after the news broke on Saturday night, Los Angeles Angels play-by-play announcer Wayne Randazzo sounded off about the rest of the league letting the Dodgers acquire Skubal. Randazzo called out the Milwaukee Brewers, who were playing the Angels at the time, as a team that should’ve been all over acquiring Skubal.
Jomboy Media’s Chris Rose took it a step further on Monday.
Rose, a former host and announcer for Fox Sports and MLB Network, went off about the Brewers, as well as the Tampa Bay Rays, for failing to outbid the Dodgers for Skubal.
Valid @ChrisRose crash out pic.twitter.com/Ws0NgLmClr
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 3, 2026
“My attitude right now is the reason I wanted the Brewers to go so hard after Tarik Skubal,” Rose began on the Talkin’ Baseball MLB trade deadline reaction show. “And I know that you guys have already talked about this a ton, but it is the biggest story we’ve got; we can focus on all these interesting moves that we think can be all the difference in the world. Let’s talk about the biggest one in the room, which is all these people flooding our comments section from the late-night Saturday show, and the one I did earlier today with Dalton, that’s saying, ‘Well, we can’t give up these prospects. It’s the lifeblood of the Brewers’ and Rays’ organizations.”
“That is such bullsh*t,” Rose continued. “I’ve had enough of it. Enough. I went back to 2017, when Christian Yelich was traded to the Brewers. You know that the Brewers gave up their first, their like fourth, their seventh, and like a 16th or 17th-best prospect Now, I know that Yelich was under control. He ended up getting the extension. So, it’s a different thing. People will say, ‘Well, you can’t do it for just a two-month rental.’
“Really? How many World Series have the Brewers won? Oh, you can even throw the Rays in there. I’ll combine ’em. How many World Series have those two franchises won? Anybody? That’s correct, nerd boy! Zero! So why don’t we try something different? Do you think Dustin May (acquired by Milwaukee on Monday) is going to line up, and everybody’s gonna be like, ‘Hell yes! That guy’s gonna pitch Game 2, because Kyle Harrison’s arm is falling off! So, now we have to trot out Dustin May in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Dodgers!’ And you know who he’s going to face?! Tarik Skubal! And that’s going to be a problem for the Brewers!
“I love the Brewers! They are a tremendous story! But the idea should not be just to survive. It should be to advance. And I don’t care. I am telling you this as a lifelong [fan of Cleveland], who did not pull the trigger on a Randy Johnson trade, who did not pull the trigger on a Curt Schilling trade, who did not pull the trigger on a Pedro Martinez trade! I regret it!
“I would have given anything! Hell, I would have given up this arm, and this arm! I would have cut my damn head off to have a chance at that stuff! And we had a way better team than the Brewers do now! And we still didn’t get it done! And it pains me because we didn’t try!'”
The Brewers won an MLB-best 97 games in 2025 before getting swept in four games by the eventual champion Dodgers in the NLCS. Currently, the Brewers have MLB’s best record again at 69-43, and they’re trying to hold off the Dodgers (69-44) for the NL’s top seed and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Additionally, the Brewers had the opportunity to pair Skubal with Jacob Misiorowski, the best pitcher in baseball this season (1.63 ERA over 127 innings), all while being absolutely loaded with young talent and prospects to trade from in a farm system that many evaluators rank first in the majors.
Then there are the Rays, who have the AL’s best record (65-46) and are trying to hold off the New York Yankees for the AL East division title.
Both of these organizations are small-market franchises that rank in the bottom half of MLB payrolls, and they’re unlikely to spend big dollars to acquire superstar talent like the Dodgers and many other organizations will. In this case, for a rental in Skubal, it really just comes down to being willing to part with prospects. And while that could hurt in the big picture, you have to take risks sometimes to try to get over the hump. These are also organizations with the depth of young talent and prospect capital to survive one big swing like this. In the case of the Brewers, there’s also additional value in keeping Skubal off of the Dodgers.
To Rose’s point, this was a classic true “if not now, when?” situation for two franchises that have never won a championship. Instead, the two-time defending champions get much better and will be even more difficult to beat in October.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.