The Los Angeles Dodgers activated left-hander Tarik Skubal from the bereavement list on Wednesday, restoring one of their most important arms as they close out the regular season and prepare for October, via the MLB transaction log.
Skubal had been placed on the list Sunday after starting Saturday against the San Francisco Giants.
Manager Dave Roberts said at the time that the two-time Cy Young Award winner would be away for “a couple days” to handle a personal matter and offered no further details.
Bereavement leave typically lasts three to seven days. Because Skubal had just pitched, the brief absence was not expected to cost him a start.
The corresponding moves on Sunday included recalling right-handers Emmet Sheehan and Kyle Hurt from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioning Seth Halvorsen.
Sheehan then worked bulk innings behind an opener in Sunday’s series finale and threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts, strengthening his case for a possible postseason role.
With Skubal back, the Dodgers have optioned Hurt as part of additional roster adjustments that also included activating Shohei Ohtani from the injured list.
Skubal has been a difference-maker since the Dodgers acquired him from the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 2 in exchange for outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith.
In nine starts with Los Angeles, he is 4-2 with a 2.95 ERA, 60 strikeouts, and 55 innings. Overall this season he is 11-7 with a 2.85 ERA and 176 strikeouts across 25 starts.
His last outing, a five-inning, four-run effort against the Giants in which he recorded only three strikeouts, was his least sharp start in a Dodgers uniform, but he still earned the win.
The timing of his return matters. The Dodgers are chasing seeding in a crowded National League picture while managing injuries to other starters.
Skubal is widely viewed as a candidate to start Game 1 of a playoff series, alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and a recovering Blake Snell.
Roberts has indicated Skubal is on track for his next turn, projected for Friday’s series opener in San Francisco.
For a club built to contend for a third straight World Series title, getting their deadline ace back on the active roster without missing a start is a modest but welcome development.
The personal circumstances remain private. What is public is that Skubal is available again as the Dodgers finish the regular season and turn toward October.
