Dodgers top prospect's late scratch adds genuine fuel to Tarik Skubal trade rumors

On Saturday morning, the Detroit Tigers had no hope, no cash, and no jobs. 48 hours later, they might be able to tick at least one of those boxes. As a Tarik Skubal trade becomes more of a reality than a metaphor with each passing hour, the Los Angeles Dodgers seem like both the most motivated buyer and the most terrifying outcome for the rest of the baseball universe. A Saturday night minor league shuffle, which seemed suspicious at first ... was quickly confirmed to be as ominous as the non-Dodgers portion of the baseball world feared it was.

Both Zyhir Hope and Kendall George, two of the Dodgers' top young members of their outfield prospect corps, were scratched from Double-A Tulsa's lineup prior to Saturday night's game. A late scratch, with or without an explanation, is fairly suspicious this time of year.

It only gets more suspicious when sources all but confirm that, yes, this scratch is due to outsized care in case a blockbuster trade materializes quickly. As far as we know, Skubal is the only potentially available trade target that would be worth sacrificing Hope, a top-30 prospect in the game (per MLB Pipeline).

While the Skubal market was subdued on Saturday morning, MLB insider Jon Heyman confirmed on Saturday night that the Tigers had begun to listen to more formal offers. You do the math here. Hope wasn't given a breather just to get him off his feet in the Tulsa heat.

Who would follow Zyhir Hope to Detroit Tigers if Tarik Skubal Dodgers trade goes down?

The Tigers have been adamant that they require MLB-ready pitching in any Skubal trade package, so you would imagine that Hope would probably be the highest-ranked prospect dangled in exchange for two months of the reigning Cy Young, but that River Ryan would also be included to sweeten the package. Expect a third name (the speedy George?), and that ought to be enough to outbid the Brewers.

When every whisper holds weight this time of year, Heyman confirming that Hope's scratch was basically a scream is an extra impactful note. The bidding probably won't be over here anytime soon, given that the rest of the league's still seemingly on pause, but it's certainly afoot.

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