Tarik Skubal keeps drifting toward the center of the Dodgers’ offseason conversation, and the latest wave of trade speculation only sharpens that point. The club already landed him at the deadline, and the assumption has been that a new deal will follow once the offseason opens. But that path is hardly settled, and the noise around possible alternatives makes the case for Skubal even stronger.
One report has Skubal in line for a contract with an AAV of $50 million. That may or may not become reality, but the broader picture is clear: if the Dodgers don’t land him, the market doesn’t offer an easy Plan B.
That’s the real issue. Beyond Skubal, the free-agent class doesn’t appear to have a clear top-tier starter waiting around. If a team misses out on him, the logic points toward the trade market, where MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand laid out a useful look at potential offseason candidates.
Feinsand’s list includes Logan Gilbert, Shane McClanahan, and Spencer Strider, with Strider standing out as the most interesting swing. He hasn’t been truly healthy since the 2023 season, and when he has pitched for the Atlanta Braves, the results haven’t matched the reputation.
Still, if Atlanta wanted to move off the money, the deal would matter. Strider is owed $22 million in 2027 and 2028, and the Dodgers are one of the few teams with the financial muscle to absorb that kind of gamble.
They would also have the flexibility to give him time if he’s working his way back toward form.
If the Dodgers want something steadier, Gilbert looks like the cleaner answer. Among the three, he comes with the least concern about injury, which gives him an edge over McClanahan, who still hasn’t fully shaken those questions over the past couple of years.
Even with those names in play, the takeaway from the exercise is hard to miss. The Dodgers’ best move may simply be the one everyone has been expecting all along: sign Skubal.
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Rojas first made his name with the Miami Marlins from 2015 to 2022 before returning to the Dodgers, and this stretch has the feel of a final chapter coming into view. Roberts giving him the nod is more than a lineup decision, because it frames the day as a chance for one of the teams most trusted veterans to get a meaningful moment in what could be his last game for Los Angeles. [Read more 🡒]