The Chicago Cubs keep showing up in Tarik Skubal’s orbit, and that alone says plenty about where this offseason could be headed. The need is obvious. The bigger question is whether Jed Hoyer and the front office are willing to go where this kind of pursuit demands.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand included the Cubs in a look at Skubal’s expected market, placing them alongside the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays, and Philadelphia Phillies. The logic is easy enough to follow: the Cubs have more than $100 million coming off the books this offseason, and on paper they’re one of the few clubs that could chase a deal in Skubal’s range without creating immediate payroll problems.
But the obstacle is just as plain. The Cubs have never handed out a contract worth more than $200 million, and Skubal is expected to land well above $300 million.
If that happens, it would become the largest deal in franchise history. That’s a different level of commitment than the Cubs have shown under Hoyer, even as the market around the game keeps moving deeper into nine-figure territory.
There’s also recent history to consider. Last offseason, the Cubs stepped away from the Dylan Cease bidding once the number hit $200 million. That makes it hard to see them suddenly jumping into the deepest part of the pool, especially with the Dodgers and Mets likely to push hard for Skubal as well.
So the Cubs can absolutely be part of the conversation. They can even make a legitimate effort. But unless they’re ready to blow past the line they’ve drawn in the past, that may still leave them in the familiar spot of coming up short while the bigger spenders close the deal.
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