As the World Series wraps up sometime this week, the biggest storyline in Major League Baseball is quickly going to shift towards the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes.
While there are several suitors thought to be interested in Skubal, the 2X Cy Young’s free-agent asking price is going to be extremely high.
As always, there are some rumblings that the Toronto Blue Jays may be in on Skubal, and recently, longtime Blue Jays player Kevin Pillar shared his thoughts on the situation.
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Former Blue Jays Outfielder Kevin Pillar Sounds Off on Tarik Skubal Chances
As of now, there are about five realistic teams in MLB that have a chance to sign Tarik Skubal: The Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, and Detroit Tigers.
Recently, on a podcast episode focused on all things Blue Jays, Pillar was asked if Toronto needs to make a strong run/offer at Skubal this offseason:
“I don’t,” Pillar said. “They got their ace, they got Dylan Cease and as much as you want to build your team around having this elite starting pitching, I think the Blue Jays have good starting pitching. You can never have enough starting pitching.”
“I think the Blue Jays learned this year that they need to distribute that money over position groups as opposed to going out to sign Skubal.”
Pillar does make a good point: Dylan Cease is likely to finish in the top two of AL Cy Young voting this season, and perhaps it would be wiser for Toronto to acquire a pair of durable, productive starters instead of breaking the bank on one arm.
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Taking a Quick Look at Kevin Pillar’s Career with Toronto
After being a longtime player with the Toronto Blue Jays, Kevin Pillar still keeps up closely with the organization.
He played seven seasons in Toronto. It was the first seven years of his 13-year career.
Pillar played in a total of 695 games with the Blue Jays and totaled a bWAR of 14.0 with 55 home runs, 156 doubles, and an OPS+ of 86. Pillar was known as an exceptional defensive center fielder.
For his entire MLB career, he finished with 114 home runs and an OPS+ of 87.
Blue Jays fans, what do you think about the team potentially making a large contract offer for Tarik Skubal?
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Longtime Toronto Blue Jays Player Shares Thoughts on Tarik Skubal Rumors