Dodgers marvel at latest star addition in Tarik Skubal: Special to be part of

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.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 whe...