Local Dodgers reporter claims LA may dominate Winter Meetings with blockbuster trade

Every winter brings its share of wild rumors, but this one? This one blows the roof off the entire baseball universe.

KTLA anchor David Pingalore has proclaimed that the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers have “gained momentum” toward a mega-deal that would ship back-to-back American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal straight into Chavez Ravine.

Let's get one thing out of the way first: baseball would be broken if this actually happened. Like, re-write the CBA, make Andrew Friedman testify before Congress, MLB The Show glitch-level broken.

Skubal is arguably the best pitcher on the planet right now. He’s hitting free agency after 2026. He’s projected to be the first $400 million pitcher in MLB history. And if the Dodgers somehow pried him out of Detroit? Just go ahead and bronze the Commissioner’s Trophy and store it on Vin Scully Avenue for the next decade.

But here’s the reality check Dodgers fans have to ask themselves: do we believe Pingalore? Does he really know something that Jeff Passan doesn't?

Rumored Tarik Skubal-Dodgers trade would absolutely break baseball

Look, Pingalore has had his moments. He throws out wild stuff, and every now and then one of those darts actually hits the board. But we’re also talking about a guy who thrives on the L.A. rumor mill –– and who, let’s be honest, sometimes treats “sources” the way kids treat imaginary friends.

If there were real, tectonic-plate-shifting momentum on a Skubal-to-Dodgers deal? Passan would be on SportsCenter in a hazmat suit trying to contain the meltdown in Detroit. So, does Pingalore know more than even the most trusted MLB insiders? Let’s just say this: If Pingalore breaks a Skubal trade before Passan does, Dodgers fans will throw him a parade down Sunset Boulevard and retire his news desk.

But if you’re asking what’s more likely? Pingalore might just be chasing virality during what has been a "slower" MLB offseason for Los Angeles. Prior to Edwin Diaz's arrival, outside of the usual rumor trickle, we’ve been… bored. And when baseball fans are bored, baseball fans will believe anything.

Pingalore knows that. Everyone in media knows that. In an offseason where the biggest news some nights is a depth-chart projection, hinting that the Dodgers might somehow steal the best pitcher in the American League? That’s how you go viral on a Monday night.

Is a Skubal trade impossible? No. Is it likely? Only if Detroit’s front office accidentally hit “Accept Trade” in real life the way you do in a franchise simulation when you’re not paying attention.

But Dodgers fans, admit it... you're dreaming about it anyway.

Pingalore might be reaching. He might be stirring the pot. He might be building a rumor mansion on a foundation of cotton candy. But on the oft chance that he's even 1% right? The Dodgers would own baseball in a way that would break every group chat, every power ranking, and every TV rights deal for the next five years.

So for now, believe it, don’t believe it, laugh at it, or dream about it. Just know this: if the Dodgers somehow land Skubal, baseball as we know it ends. And Dodgers baseball? It becomes a global empire.