The New York Mets are reportedly in the middle of the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes as the team could finally look to sign that No. 1 starter to anchor their rotation. Nonetheless, there are other teams reported to have an interest in landing Skubal.
Skubal was traded midseason from the Detroit Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he had a 6-3 record with an ERA of 2.59 and 84 strikeouts in 12 appearances in the regular season and playoffs, per StatMuse.
Despite being traded midseason and the Dodgers falling short of winning a three-peat, Skubal showed that he can pitch in a major market. Now, New York would be vastly different, but at least the Mets know that being in Los Angeles didn’t impact the starter’s production.
Nonetheless, when it comes to the money, that’s where New York will have to think seriously about this decision, as MLB insider Bob Nightengale noted that teams on the East Coast like the Mets and Toronto Blue Jays will have to pay more than the West Coast teams.
“They’ve already set up four meetings with the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays. We’ll see what happens with the Mets, of course,” Nightengale said in a Nov. 13 video from “Foul Territory.” “… I think the Mets will say, ‘Okay, well, we’ll get him here.’ They think they’ve got to pay more than the West Coast teams because of proximity and everything else. Throw the Toronto Blue Jays in there, too. I think they’d have to pay a lot more for him to come all the way to Toronto.”
Insider Hands Out Tarik Skubal Free Agency Prediction
While the Mets and Blue Jays could make serious offers, Skubal being from the West Coast and still residing in Arizona gives the upper hand to teams like the Dodgers and San Diego Padres. As a result, Nightengale sees Skubal staying on the West Coast, more specifically with the Dodgers.
“I still think it’s up to the Dodgers,” Nightengale added. “If the Dodgers want him, if Mark Walter’s financial situation is an impediment, then I think he ends up there. He’s from Kingman, Arizona. His entire family lives in Arizona. His wife’s family lives in Arizona. So their preference, obviously, is to be out West.”
How Mets Should Look to Sell New York on Tarik Skubal
Meanwhile, SNY’s Todd Zeile noted an approach that the Mets should take if they want to come out as the winner of the Skubal sweepstakes.
“I might take a little bit different approach,” Zeile said in a Nov. 11 video from SNY. “I would say potentially, ‘Hey, can you play in New York? Are you a guy that can handle the pressure of being on the mound in New York City, taking the mound on the biggest stage? Because that is the difference-maker between a lot of guys that come here and have success and guys that don’t.
“Maybe that challenge of, ‘Hey, wouldn’t you like to see if you have what it takes to pitch in the toughest market, in the greatest place, and in the best organization in baseball right now as a place to build from?’ So look, you’re going to hear a lot of the same things. Boras is going to hear a lot of the same rhetoric. So what’s going to separate New York? That ability to play in what I think is the best place to win in all of sports.”
Mets, Blue Jays Receive Candid Tarik Skubal Outlook From Insider