Tarik Skubal will become Brewers' biggest regret

On Aug. 1, the Milwaukee Brewers learned they missed out on the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes. On Nov. 1, the Brewers will likely still be shaking their heads about what might have been this season.

Yes, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the Skubal sweepstakes late on Saturday night, adding the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner to a stable of talent that solidifies their position as World Series favorites. Skubal's addition also adds another hurdle to the Brewers being able to overcome the Dodgers in the race for the National League crown.

Last season, it was the Dodgers who swept the Brewers out of the NLCS on the way to winning their second consecutive World Series title. Milwaukee scored just one run in each of the four losses, emphasizing just how effectively Los Angeles pitching was able to handcuff Milwaukee batters when it mattered most.

Now add Skubal to the mix and the possibility of Milwaukee (or any other NL team) knocking off the Dodgers before the Fall Classic seems bleak at best.

Why Milwaukee Brewers should have been more aggressive with Tarik Skubal pursuit

If there ever was a season for the Brewers to push all their chips in to land a dominant pitcher, this was it ... especially after seeing the prospect package it took to land Skubal from the Detroit Tigers.

With Jacob Misiorowski having a dominant season (1.58 ERA through his first 20 starts), adding Skubal to the top of the Brewers rotation would have given Milwaukee a fascinating one-two postseason punch. It also would have relieved some of the pressure off the 24-year-old right-hander if "The Miz" had a less-than-stellar outing when October's lights were shining.

Milwaukee entered Sunday's play with MLB's best record at 69-41, a half-game ahead of the Dodgers. It's still a possibility that the Brewers could hold on and have home-field advantage throughout the postseason. If the Brewers have that over the Dodgers (or any team, for that matter), how nice would it have been to have Skubal as a Game 1 or 2 starter for a series?

With MLB's Collective Bargaining Agreement ending on December 1 and the uncertainty of the offseason ahead, as well as Skubal's future with the Dodgers or any other team (he is a free agent at the end of the season), Milwaukee going all in with a prospect haul, on the surface, seemed like a no-brainer. Even for a possible "rental" like Skubal, having a better chance to win a World Series seems like a chance worth taking.

That, however, is now a "what if" world, as is a world that could be coming in October where Skubal leads the Dodgers to the title as Milwaukee wonders what could have been if they had just aggressively rolled the dice on the best pitcher available at the MLB trade deadline.