Logan Henderson Showed Why He Wasn’t Traded for Tarik Skubal

In every season since 2017, the Milwaukee Brewers have found themselves in playoff contention late into the year. And with each postseason run that falls short, one question gets louder and louder from the voices of their fans.

Is this the year the Brewers “go for it?”

Milwaukee actually did stretch the pocketbooks in 2018, the first of seven playoff appearances in their last eight seasons. Trades for Mike Moustakas, Joakim Soria, Gio Gonzalez, and others helped propel them to the NLCS, where they fell one game short of the World Series in a Game 7 loss to the Dodgers.

Since then, the Brewers have made more cost-conscious moves toward the deadline that bolstered some weak spots but didn’t put the franchise’s future at risk. Nearly every year resulted in a playoff spot, and every year in the playoffs resulted in falling short of the organization’s second World Series appearance in team history.

But then came this season. Milwaukee was heading into the trade deadline as one of the top teams in the entire league for the second year in a row and had what most pundits considered the best farm system in baseball.

On the other side of the competitive spectrum, the Detroit Tigers had determined that they were going to trade two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. With the 29-year-old set to become a free agent in the offseason, Detroit was hoping to get a big return that would help them quickly return to contention in 2027.

While the Brewers were very interested in acquiring Skubal to turn a formidable starting rotation into a filthy one, there were players and prospects they considered off-limits. Among them, according to reports, were the No. 1 MLB prospect Jesus Made, rookies Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara, who signed long-term deals before the season, and starting pitcher Logan Henderson.

The prevailing thought was that a young starter was very high on the Tigers’ wish list. So, with Henderson off the board, the two sides were unable to strike a deal, and the Dodgers, to the surprise of no one, ended up winning the Skubal sweepstakes.

The Brewers did end up getting their starting rotation addition in the Cardinals’ Dustin May, but more importantly, they were able to hold on to Henderson. And it didn’t take him long after the deadline to show just why Milwaukee’s front office was unwilling to let him go.

Logan Henderson Showed on Sunday Why He Wasn’t Traded for Tarik Skubal

With the Brewers holding on to Henderson, it sent a message that they have as much trust in him in big games as they would’ve had in Skubal. So it only made sense that the 24-year-old took the mound in LA against the player he didn’t end up being traded for.

Skubal himself lived up to the hype, as he usually does. He held the Brewers to two runs (one earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven. He gave the Dodgers every chance to win the game.

His problem was that he was opposing Henderson, who was phenomenal in a marquee Sunday matchup. He limited Los Angeles to just one run, scored on a Max Muncy solo homer, over seven innings on three hits and a walk. He also struck out six and helped power the Brewers to a 6-2, series-securing win.

Outside of the homer, Henderson didn’t give the Dodgers much of a chance on the day. No other L.A. player advanced farther than first base during Henderson’s seven innings of work, and in none of those seven innings did they bring more than four batters to the plate.

It was also the second time Henderson has dominated the Dodgers this season. He went five scoreless innings in a May 22 start against them, holding them to just two hits and three walks while striking out seven in a 5-1 Brewers win at home.

The Dodgers were reminded on Sunday what Brewers fans started finding out last year and what the rest of the league is starting to learn: Logan Henderson is an excellent young pitcher with a bright future ahead of him.

In his young, 17-start career, Henderson has pitched to a 2.44 ERA with a .189 batting average against and a 31.9% strikeout rate. He has yet to give up more than three earned runs in a start, and Milwaukee is 14-3 when he takes the mound.

And with five more years of control remaining, it all shows why the Brewers didn’t want to include him in a trade for Skubal. While it’s not every day you have a chance to bring in a two-time Cy Young winner, the fact of the matter is that he’s a rental who hits free agency after the 2026 season.

So even though the Brewers didn’t “go for it” and trade for Skubal, retaining Henderson makes it all worth it. Not just for this year, but for years to come.