The biggest story at the trade deadline was the Los Angeles Dodgers trading for Tarik Skubal, and now he will enter free agency without paying off the Dodgers trade with a three-peat.
Perhaps it's fitting that it was the Milwaukee Brewers, who reportedly refused to give up Logan Henderson in a package for Skubal, who knocked the Dodgers out. Skubal was a rental, so it made him available to every contender should they be willing to give up prospects. The Dodgers thought Skubal would make their superteam unstoppable, but they ran into a buzzsaw, and now Skubal will get to pick his next team.
With whispers of a lockout and salary cap, there's no telling what the offseason will look like for Skubal and other free agents.
"I'm really not going to comment on my future," Skubal said bluntly when asked if he wanted to be back with the Dodgers.
Skubal could end up getting the biggest contract for a starting pitcher in MLB history, but the introduction of a salary cap would certainly impact the chances of that. There's only a handful of teams that would be able to afford a player like Skubal, and the Dodgers are certainly one of them.
Skubal did not get the taste of winning a championship with the Dodgers, but he acknowledged how hard it is to win and that the Dodgers have a great group of players who just fell short this year. Teams like the New York Mets and New York Yankees are also teams to keep an eye on in Skubal's high-profile free agency.