Reigning champion Dodgers don’t have to trade for Tarik Skubal — or anyone else

In any other season, I would say go after him.

Pay the ransom.

Shake up baseball one more time by landing Tarik Skubal before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

A legitimate shot at winning a World Series shouldn’t be taken for granted. A legitimate shot at winning a third consecutive World Series really shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Any time a championship contender can acquire a pitcher of Skubal’s caliber, it should. It would be negligent not to.

Only in the case of these Dodgers, they’re not typical contenders.

They’re not typical two-time defending champions, if such a thing exists.

Which is why the team in a better position than any other in baseball to strike a deal for Skubal shouldn’t.

They can win without him. 

By October, their rotation will consist of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow.

Without Skubal, they would still have the best starting rotation in baseball. Even if Skubal is traded to another contender, they would still have an edge in pitching over whichever team acquires the left-hander.

This isn’t a knock on Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner with the Tigers.

Skubal will be paid hundreds of millions of dollars this winter – or whenever the sport’s anticipated lockout comes to an end – and rightfully so.

But his status as an impending free agent complicates matters.

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With Skubal months from potentially signing a record-breaking contract, what could the Dodgers reasonably ask of him if they find themselves in a pinch?

Could they move him into the bullpen for a game or two, as they did last October with Yamamoto, Snell and Glasnow? Could they send him to the mound on three-days rest, as they did with Ohtani in Game 7 of the World Series?

The situation wouldn’t be fair to Skubal, who has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create generational wealth for his family.

The situation would be uncomfortable for the Dodgers, who have become a destination franchise not only because of how much they pay their players but also because of how they treat them.

For argument’s sake, let’s say the Dodgers acquire Skubal and do so without giving up any of their projected October starters. There would be a logjam in their rotation.

There are worse problems to have, obviously, but is this one worth creating at the expense of a high-caliber prospect such as Josue De Paula?

Andrew Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations, was unambiguous about what his preference would be.

“What we have said for years now is that our goal in July is to not be in a position where we feel forced to buy,” Friedman said. “Prices are 200% normal prices outside of the deadline.”

Whether the Dodgers will be forced into such a position depends on injured players they expect to return.

Reliever Evan Phillips returned Monday from an elbow reconstruction he underwent 13 months ago. Closer Edwin Diaz has started throwing to hitters and Snell is expected to join him relatively soon.

While Glasnow and catcher Will Smith remain in the early stages of the recoveries from back and neck injuries, respectively, Friedman said they both could be counted on to return later this season.

“So obviously we’ll know a lot more as we get deeper into July about our guys that are coming back,” Friedman said. “We’re able to approach this July with a very opportunistic mindset because at least the way it’s tracking, we don’t feel like we’ll have an acute need.”

Their offense leads the majors in OPS, and Mookie Betts has looked like an All-Star-caliber player over the last couple of weeks. Their bullpen has performed better than expected in Diaz’s absence. And if Snell and Glasnow return, their rotation will have the same pitchers it did last October.

If a bargain presents itself, great. If it doesn’t, no problem. The Dodgers won’t have any problems heading into the postseason with the players they already have.