The New York Mets are 34-41 entering June 19, and unless they dramatically turn their situation around, the front office will have to go into seller mode at the trade deadline. Moreover, the Mets will need to go back to the drawing board to revamp the team into a contender.
Since David Stearns took over as the Mets’ president of baseball operations, New York has been cautious with handing out lucrative contracts in free agency, with Juan Soto being an exception.
As a result, Zachary Rotman of FanSided believes that the Mets will need to open up their wallets this upcoming offseason and go after the biggest free agent on the market, Tarik Skubal.
“Like it or not, David Stearns does not believe in paying top dollar to starting pitchers,” Rotman wrote in a June 18 article. “I can understand it to an extent, as many starting pitcher contracts are outrageous and age poorly (largely due to injuries). This is not always the case when it comes to the best of the best, though.
“Stearns willingly went to $325 million in the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes, only for the right-hander to spurn the Mets for the Dodgers. Tarik Skubal is older than Yamamoto was at the time, and the fact that he’s coming off an elbow injury is a bit scary, but there’s no question that he is a needle-mover.”
Tarik Skubal Would Be the Mets’ No. 1 Ace
Moreover, pursuing Skubal would finally give the Mets not just a No. 1 starter, but arguably the best starting pitcher. New York opted to go a different route in finding an ace last offseason in trading for Freddy Peralta, but the Detroit Tigers star would be at a different level.
“He’s a needle-mover that the Mets should be pursuing,” Rotman added in his article. “No disrespect to Freddy Peralta, but is he really good enough to lead a rotation of a World Series contender? If the Mets are outbid or unwilling to pursue Skubal, trading for an ace feels like a must.
“Their starting pitching has been too inconsistent and too unreliable in the Stearns era to walk away from the 2027 offseason without a legitimate ace, whether it’s Skubal or someone else.”
Tarik Skubal Looks to Show He’s Healthy Before Free Agency
Since making his MLB debut in 2020, Skubal is 57-40 with an ERA of 3.06 and 938 strikeouts in 145 appearances for the Tigers in his career, per StatMuse. Nonetheless, Skubal did have an injury that will give the Mets or any other team concern in giving him a long-term contract.
Skubal returned to the Tigers’ rotation on June 13, making his first start just over a month after undergoing a NanoScope elbow procedure on May 6 to remove loose bodies from the joint.
This season, Skubal has a 3-3 record with an ERA of 2.81 and 49 strikeouts in eight appearances for the Tigers, per StatMuse.
It will be interesting to see if Skubal can prove he’s healthy and show teams they shouldn’t have any concerns about giving him a long-term contract this upcoming offseason, as the player gets ready to hit free agency.
Mets Receive Intriguing Tarik Skubal Free Agency Take