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Ranking Dodgers SP Tarik Skubal's Top 5 Landing Spots Ahead of MLB Free Agency
Now that the Los Angeles Dodgers' season is over, it's time to begin playing what will be everyone's favorite game this winter: Where will Tarik Skubal sign?
It will be some time before we know the answer, but what we know for sure is that it's going to take several Brinks trucks to even get Skubal's and Scott Boras' attention. In a survey of industry insiders, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN found that the average projection for the lefty's next contract was eight years and $355 million.
Outrageous? Hardly. Skubal was the AL's Cy Young Award winner in 2024 and 2025. Elbow surgery and a modest decline this year took some of the shine off his left arm, but only so much. He still posted a 2.72 ERA and 6.89 K/BB ratio over 26 starts in the regular season, before further adding to an excellent playoff resume.
If Skubal and Boras do indeed shoot for a contract worth more than $300 million, there should be no mistake that his market will be limited. In all likelihood, we'll be able to count his realistic suitors on two hands or fewer.
Ahead, we'll break down five potential landing spots for Skubal and why they make sense for him.
5. Los Angeles Angels
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The Angels may have lost 100 games for the first time in their history this year, but it wasn't because of their starting pitching. Their starters ranked in the top half of the league for ERA and rWAR.
Even if Josรฉ Soriano is gone, Reid Detmers and Walbert Ureรฑa are still around. If they find themselves pitching behind Skubal with top prospect Tyler Bremner waiting in the wings, suddenly the future doesn't look so bad.
As for the money question, this is a weird case where a team's incoming new owner isn't necessarily a better bet to break the bank than its soon-to-be former owner. Arte Moreno handed out more than his share of dumb money in his day. Stan Kroenke, by contrast, isn't known for doing that with his other teams.
It is nonetheless interesting that Skubal himself expects Kroenke to turn the Angels into a coveted destination for free agents. Provided Skubal is willing to wait until the sale of the franchise is final, perhaps he'll be willing to putโฆ er, accept money where his mouth is.
4. San Diego Padres
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The Padres weren't able to win the franchise's first World Series under the Seidler family. It wasn't for lack of trying, though, and new owners Kwanza Jones and Josรฉ E. Feliciano don't sound interested in scaling back the effort.
"We need to win the World Series," Feliciano said in August. "It's that simple. That's what we're going to do."
If ever there was a way to show they mean business, it's by signing Skubal away from those darn Dodgers. Maybe it wouldn't totally undo the little brother vs. big brother dynamic between the two NL West powers, but it would give the Padres a real trump card: the best pitcher in baseball.
Besides, the Padres are going to need Skubal if Michael King declines his $28 million player option for 2027 and becomes a free agent. Skubal is one of the few pitchers in MLB who would represent an upgrade over King, even if signing him would likely cost more than $40 million per year.
3. New York Yankees
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Do the Yankees really need to go all-out for Skubal? Their starters led the majors with a 3.30 ERA this season, and all the main contributors are locked in for 2027 and beyond.
Well, sometimes the best thing to do with a strength is lean into it. And if the Yankees could line up Skubal with Cam Schlittler, Max Fried, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodรณn, that's when we could begin having the "Best Rotation Ever?" discussion.
As for the money, Hal Steinbrenner's limits are clearly lower than fans would (rightfully) like them to be. Despite still being the most valuable franchise in baseball, the Yankees tend to be more comfortable operating with MLB's No. 3 payroll than with its No. 1 payroll.
Of course, this doesn't mean the Yankees can't afford Skubal. Their roster already includes three players on contracts originally worth at least $300 million. And if Steinbrenner really wants to get serious about winning championship No. 28, a fourth should be in order.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
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Well, obviously the Dodgers are going to be a suitor for Skubal in free agency.
Definitely. Probably. Possibly. Maybe?
They are MLB's resident spending titan, but they don't have a ton of money set to come off their books this winter.
Then there's the uncertainty surrounding principal owner Mark Walter. The Athletic reported that Walter and insurance companies he controls were under federal investigation and that Walter and several companies had been named as defendants in a class-action lawsuit alleging fraud and other wrongdoing. Walter has also agreed to sell his Lakers stake, though Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten has said the Dodgers are not for sale. TWG Global has denied wrongdoing.
Until further notice, though, it's probably best to assume the Dodgers will keep acting like the Dodgers. Especially, that is, if they have reason to believe the next CBA is going to put checks on their power.
If so, this November is their chance for a last hurrah. Courting Skubal is their best way to make the most of that opportunity and, love it or hate it, extend a middle finger to the rest of the league.
1. New York Mets
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The Mets are the top contender for Skubal because of course they are. Steve Cohen may not be MLB's richest owner anymore, but his track record speaks for itself.
Under him, the Mets have had MLB's No. 1 Opening Day payroll in three of the last four years. And while president of baseball operations David Stearns clearly falls on the risk-averse side, Cohen has been known to put his finger on the scale until it climbs all the way to $765 million.
That was for Juan Soto, of course, and there's no denying that the Mets need his equal on the mound. Their starting rotation was a disaster this year, ranking 23rd in ERA and rWAR.
Pairing Skubal with Nolan McLean won't fix that in one fell swoop, but it's the biggest possible step in the right direction.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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