As free agency opens, the clock is already ticking on the Dodgers and Tarik Skubal.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan says the star pitcher is expected to come off the board before the December 1 lockout, which gives Los Angeles and every other interested club about a month to put together its best pitch. Passan called Skubal “far and away the best player in this class,” and pointed to the Dodgers and Mets as the two most obvious suitors because they sit atop baseball’s payroll ladder.
“There are bound to be others. The Chicago Cubs badly want Skubal. They also are skeptical that they will be willing to compete at the sort of dollars Skubal is expected to get - well in excess of $300 million, potentially in the $400 million-plus range.”
That kind of price tag would make Skubal the kind of player who can reshape an offseason, and the Dodgers are one of the few teams that can realistically play at that level. Their revenue gives them the ability to match just about any offer, and their history says they are willing to spend when they decide the target is worth it.
Skubal fits that description. He is the biggest free agent on the board and the kind of difference-maker the Dodgers would have every reason to chase hard.
Still, there’s a wrinkle hanging over the situation. Team owner Mark Walter continues to sell off pieces of his sports portfolio, and news broke today that he is looking to sell Cadillac F1. That has raised questions about whether any financial pressure could change how aggressive the Dodgers want to be.
If Walter needs money quickly, a massive commitment to Skubal may not be his first choice.
Walter has publicly said the Dodgers will not slow down their spending, though. If that holds true and the concern is nothing more than outside speculation, then the timeline Passan laid out won’t change much. The Dodgers would still be in the hunt, right up until the end.
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