The New York Mets are in offseason mode and are lacking a true ace to anchor their starting rotation. Nonetheless, one potential guy could fill that need: Los Angeles Dodgers starter Tarik Skubal.
While New York can spend the money under owner Steve Cohen, the question is whether he and Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns want to commit to the long-term contract and money Skubal will demand.
Although the Mets need an ace, Underscore Media’s Sal Licata believes that New York should stay away from Skubal, given that the team will still have significant holes on the roster.
“In this particular spot, do you think Tarik Skubal alone is the difference-maker for the Mets? I don’t,” Licata said in an Oct. 1 Underscore Media video on X. “I think they need more than one guy atop their rotation, and if you’re telling me that there are going to be at least some kind of limitations, and forget the collective bargaining agreement, all that stuff, if there is going to be some kind of limitations.
“There always are; even Steve Cohen has his limit. It’s stupid to have the luxury tax threshold and not be able to go out and balance the team out if you need to. You don’t want to just go all in on three freaking players. It just doesn’t work.”
Mets Urged to Follow Yankees Path
Moreover, Licata believes the Mets should take the approach the New York Yankees did when they didn’t re-sign Juan Soto and opted to spread that money around rather than pay one guy.
“If that’s going to be a thing, then why wouldn’t you rather spread that out a little bit?” Licata added. “In theory, do what the Yankees did after they lost out on Soto and spread it out a little bit and allow you to add multiple pieces.”
Tarik Skubal Could Pitch in Major Market Like New York
Meanwhile, SNY’s Keith Raad says that if the Mets do make a serious run at Skubal in free agency, they wouldn’t have to worry about the veteran ace having that shock of pitching in a big market. Skubal spent most of his career with the Detroit Tigers, but his midseason trade to the Dodgers shows he can perform for a team in a big market and with expectations.
“Skubal has been there and done that a little bit, even though he’s pitched in Detroit and the fact that he’s pitching well for the Dodgers as the guy in the trade shows me that he would be fine,” Raad said in an Oct. 1 appearance on SNY.
“The only cautionary tale I would have is, again, Mets in-house; they brought in people, they brought in players that maybe started to go south. They have not been able to get them right. That’s the part that the Mets need to figure out in player acquisition. Can we get them back to the back of the baseball card, just a simple average of who they are?”
Since the trade to the Dodgers, Skubal is 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 10 appearances, per StatMuse.
Mets Issued Clear Free Agency Message on Dodgers’ Tarik Skubal