Padres almost caught a break from Dodgers trade talk until Friedman shut it down

The Padres almost had a massive scare during the winter meetings, and it is not because the front office left without making any big-name signings. It was because their division rival just north on Interstate-5 almost pulled off one of the biggest blockbuster trades we have seen.

David Pingalore of KTLA-TV reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers had a package in place for two-time Cy Young award winner and Detroit Tigers’ ace, Tarik Skubal. Pingalore tweeted the following, which had not only Padres fans, but fans across he entire league scared for an eventual bombshell.

Tyler Glasnow trade rumors briefly gave Padres fans a moment of hope

“I’m hearing the Skubal deal is essentially in place — the pieces are agreed to, the framework is done. What’s holding it up now is the long-term extension and ownership approval in Detroit. The Tigers won’t green-light it without the owner’s sign-off, and the Dodgers won’t ship out that kind of haul without a long-term commitment to Skubal.”

Reported later on, the Dodgers were planning to send one of their many aces to Detroit in return, Tyler Glasnow in particular — along with a pool of prospects, including Zyhir Hope, the team’s No. 2-ranked prospect, respectively, would have headlined the package.

However, Dodgers president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, informed Glasnow that he would not be traded. A sigh of relief to all involved.

In 2025, Glasnow missed time with an injury but was still able to log 18 starts. Over 90 innings pitched, the 32-year-old posted a 3.19 ERA with an elite 29% strikeout rate.

Don’t get us wrong, the Dodgers still have the scariest rotation in all of baseball with the arms they have. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani, and Tyler Glasnow as your front-line starters is like facing the Avengers. But the Padres should be glad that the Skubal/Glasnow swap didn’t happen (yet).

There are still plenty of marquee free agents on the market, as well as time for more moves to be made. For now, let’s just be happy the rumor didn’t become a reality.