Blake Snell bromance may be enough to convince Tarik Skubal to reach to stay with Dodgers

Whether you believe Tarik Skubal actually has a chance to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers long-term or not, the relationship blossoming between him and Blake Snell right now is giving fans something to enjoy heading into the postseason.

The two shared a moment in the clubhouse after Thursday's 8-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds, a game that clinched Los Angeles' 13th NL West title in the last 14 seasons and its fifth in a row. 

Skubal called it "the first of many," Snell fired back that it's special "because you're playing this postseason with your boy," and Skubal's response, calling Snell his best friend and "little brother," is exactly the kind of dugout chemistry that makes a fanbase fall in love with a roster before any playoff game is played.

Star power gelling like this isn't as easy as it looks from the outside. I've been in enough clubhouses to know that talent alone doesn't guarantee chemistry, and sometimes the best player in the world never quite finds his footing in a new room.

That clearly hasn't been the issue here. Skubal and Snell have started pulling actual pranks on each other, knocking over one another's chairs in the clubhouse, and have leaned into Step Brothers-inspired jokes about becoming new best friends on social media.

Pitching coach Mark Prior summed it up simply: "He's just chill. You can joke around with him. You can talk to him." Those are the intangibles that matter just as much as mound presence, stuff and command once October arrives.

Baseball already has some precedent for this kind of bond becoming part of a team's identity. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo built exactly that in Chicago on their way to breaking a 108-year championship drought in 2016, and a decade later, people are still throwing them reunion podcasts built around that friendship.

Why Scott Boras could still complicate a Tarik Skubal-Blake Snell reunion with Dodgers

Now for the reality check. Scott Boras has made a career out of pushing his best clients toward the open market, with Snell happening to be one of those clients, on his own five-year, $182 million deal signed in 2024 that runs through 2029, with a conditional option for 2030.

If Skubal follows his buddy, annd signs anywhere from three to five years this winter, that puts the two of them together in that rotation for at least three seasons and potentially four, right in the prime of their careers.

However, a meaningful friendship doesn't change Boras's feelings nor his instincts. It's still going to take a team's best offer (plus some likey gaudy contract incentives) to ultimately entice him to sign. What should give Dodgers fans a glimmer of hope is simpler than any friendship storyline, though.

Skubal has been outstanding since the trade, going 3-2 with a 2.52 ERA across eight starts in Dodger blue, looking every bit like a two-time Cy Young winner who's found his rhythm in a new clubhouse. He looks like he's having fun out there, and that has a way of translating into winning, which is ultimately the only thing this fanbase really cares about.

The bromance is funny and keeps things light when the whole world is watching your every move. The Boras conundrum is still the reality. But if the two ever turn this relationship into a marriage, a long-term deal that keeps Skubal in a Dodgers uniform next to his little brother, that's the version of this story Los Angeles fans are actually hoping for.

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