Chris Rose wished a smaller-market team had stepped up to acquire Tarik Skubal before MLB's trade deadline.
The Los Angeles Dodgers bolstered their three-peat bid by giving the Detroit Tigers three prospects for the two-time Cy Young Award winner. Rose thinks the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays should have gone all-in and sacrificed the young talent necessary to land the elite pitcher despite his looming free agency.
The former Fox Sports and MLB Network personality went on a heated rant during Jomboy Media's Talkin' Baseball.
"My attitude right now is the reason I wanted the Brewers to go so hard after Tarik Skubal," Rose said. "And I know that you guys have already talked about this a ton, but it is the biggest story we've got. We can focus on all these interesting moves that we think can be all the difference in the world. Let's talk about the biggest one in the room, which is all these people flooding our comments section from the late-night Saturday show, and the one I did earlier today with Dalton (Feely), that's saying, 'Well, we can't give up these prospects. It's the lifeblood of the Brewers' and Rays' organizations.
"That is such bull***. I've had enough of it. Enough."
"Why don't we try something different?"
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Rose pointed to the Brewers trading four prospects -- none of whom have achieved MLB success -- to the Miami Marlins for Christian Yelich in 2018. Yelich promptly won NL MVP, and the three-time All-Star remains a key presence in Milwaukee's lineup.
The Brewers quickly locked down Yelich to a long-term extension, and they likely would not have received that opportunity if they acquired Skubal from the Detroit Tigers. Rose still feels the star southpaw warranted the risk.
"People will say, 'Well, you can't do it for just a two-month rental,'" Rose said. "Really? How many World Series have the Brewers won? Oh, you can even throw the Rays in there. I'll combine 'em. How many World Series have those two franchises won? Anybody? That's correct, nerd boy. Zero. So why don't we try something different?"
Rather than make a huge splash, the Brewers acquired starting pitcher Dustin May and relief pitcher JoJo Romero from the St. Louis Cardinals. Rose wasn't impressed by the NL Central leaders addressing their rotation by adding May, who has a 4.38 ERA this season.
"So, now we have to trot out Dustin May in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Dodgers," Rose speculated. "And you know who he's going to face? Tarik Skubal. And that's going to be a problem for the Brewers. I love the Brewers. They are a tremendous story. But the idea should not be just to survive. It should be to advance."
