Two teams that didn't trade for Tarik Skubal are going to the World Series.

The team that did land the Tigers ace is not.

Ahead of the Aug. 4 trade deadline, three teams were mentioned more than most as serious suitors for Skubal: the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers. No coincidence, those are the three teams with farm systems ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, by MLB Pipeline.

Tigers president Scott Harris dealt Skubal to the Dodgers, who were seeking a World Series three-peat, for a trio of prospects, including outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handers Brady Smith and River Ryan.

The Dodgers then got swept in the National League Championship Series by the Brewers, who will play in the World Series for the first time since 1982. They are seeking their first-ever World Series title. The Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians in the American League CS and will play in their third World Series. They also are seeking their first crown.

The Brewers (19th) and Rays (28th) have two of the smaller payrolls in baseball, so many experts speculated they would be prime candidates to add Skubal at the trade deadline. With free-agency looming this offseason, he was a cost-controlled rental — a caliber of player neither team could ever afford on the open market.

In an appearance on a podcast hosted by national baseball writers Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio echoed what has been previously reported: The Brewers were interested in Skubal, but not desperate.

"This team was built, not bought," Attanasio said on the podcast. "It's critical to look at how we got here, and because I want to have sustained success, we had to do that by being very careful about how many prospects we gave up."

That's not to say the Brewers weren't engaged with the Tigers.

Attanasio said Harris gave Brewers "a best and final (offer)," and Attanasio said he talked with his president and general manager, Matt Arnold, and asked him if the Brewers could or should add anything to that proposal.

"I think best and final wasn't best and final," Attanasio said. "It wasn't like (the Tigers) were gaming teams."

In early August, Harris sent Skubal, the two-time AL Cy Young winner, to the Dodgers for Hope, a Double-A outfielder, and Smith, who's at High-A, and Ryan, who made his Tigers debut in September.

The Brewers, meanwhile, pivoted and traded for right-handed starter Dustin May from the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Rays traded for right-handed starter Freddy Peralta from the New York Mets. May has been nothing special with the Brewers, but Peralta shined with the Rays and was Most Valuable Player of the ALCS.

Attanasio shed some light on what the Tigers were looking for in Skubal talks with the Brewers. He said on the podcast that one primary target was right-handed pitcher Logan Henderson, who is in his second year in the majors and won't be a free agent until 2032. Attanasio said the Tigers never really asked about the Brewers' top prospect, shortstop Jesus Made, who is the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.

"I think it fell down more over the pitching," Attanasio said.

Skubal, 29, was 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 10 starts for the Dodgers in the regular season, and he was 1-1 in the playoffs. He is the biggest fish of the upcoming free-agent pool, with projections suggesting he could land a contract worth $400 million or more, though it remains to be seen how a looming lockout could impact that figure.

First thing's first, though, and that's the World Series, which starts Friday night in Milwaukee.

It will feature two teams that didn't trade for Skubal.