The way Miguel Rojas put it on Sunday, the Dodgers’ ascension to dynasty status has been built, in part, on sacrifice.
There have been memorable examples, like when Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani played through debilitating injuries in the 2024 postseason, or the team’s bullpen was run into the ground to overcome starting pitching absences that October, or when Rojas himself pushed through a side problem to hit the game-tying home run in Game 7 of last year’s Fall Classic.
Dodgers players were ecstatic that the franchise was able to make a deal for Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
There have been smaller reminders daily, as well, with the team’s intangible traits tying together its record-setting payroll in recent years.
Thus, when players learned that the club had acquired two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal on Saturday night, it was a sign to Rojas of the front office’s commitment to upholding that standard.
“I really appreciate the front office and ownership that we have because they really committed the same way that we commit every single day to put our body on the line,” Rojas said. “It’s not just the players doing anything that they can to put themselves out there and play every single day, regardless of what it’s gonna look like in the future. The front office is doing the same thing, and not being comfortable with just winning one or two championships.”
“We are always confident,” he added, “the guys in the front office are going to do whatever it takes to put us in the best position to win.”
Such was the sentiment echoing around the Dodgers’ clubhouse on Sunday, as the team awaited Skubal’s arrival in Los Angeles before its series finale against the Red Sox.
As has become custom for a franchise full of All-Star players and future Hall of Famers, members of the roster were swarmed by reporters for reactions to Saturday’s trade.
Mookie Betts noted how familiar such moves have become in recent years, going back to his procurement before the start of the 2020 season.
“We want to win,” he said. “That was the whole point of when I signed here in 2020. This is what they said they were going to do, and they’ve stuck to their word.”
The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman said the organization “tries to win every single year.” Getty Images
Freeman, another in what has become a long line of marquee additions, marveled at the way the organization has made big splashes feel almost expected.
“Pretty amazing,” he said. “Our front office again went out there and got the best player on the trade market. It’s fun to be a part of an organization that tries to win every single year.”
One of the team’s most recent big-name signings, closer Edwin Díaz, smiled as he experienced the scene for his first time in Dodger blue.
“The Dodgers always do something to get better,” he said. “So as a player, I think I was expecting that.”
Kiké Hernández, among the longest-tenured fixtures in the room, simply flashed a double thumbs-up at the mention of Skubal’s name.
“Yay!” he proclaimed cheerily.
News of Saturday’s transaction, which was first reported by The Post’s Jon Heyman, broke just as many Dodgers players were leaving the stadium on Saturday night.
Freeman said he was driving with his kids out of the ballpark’s parking lot when his wife, Chelsea, called him.
“She was the one that broke the news to me,” he said with a laugh.
Betts was also on his way home when his phone began to light up.
“I didn’t even know,” he said. “But it was cool.”
Admittedly, most of the Dodgers’ current stars hadn’t been preoccupied by Skubal rumors. By now, they’ve grown used to letting their front office — which had downplayed their pursuit of the left-handed ace in recent weeks — operate in secrecy before pulling off repeated stunners.
“When you look at our team now, you could probably just say our trade deadline is getting [currently injured pitchers] Blake Snell and Tyler [Glasnow] back, and hopefully [currently injured catcher] Will [Smith] back,” Freeman said. “But for them to still go get the best guy on the trade market … it gives us a great chance to win another championship. That’s all we’re trying to do here. And they see that.”
Indeed, beyond everything Skubal will provide on the mound, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said his aggressiveness was also spurred by the clubhouse culture the Dodgers have created.
“When you walk in this clubhouse before the game, every guy is doing something to help us win a game that night. And that level of commitment I think is rare, and I think is unusual,” Friedman said. “For us, it’s about supporting that, backing that up as much as we can.”
After yet another major acquisition, the move had its intended initial effect.
“It’s special to be part of,” Freeman said.
