The Padres are making no secret of where their offseason energy is going: straight toward starting pitching, with Tarik Skubal sitting at the top of the board.
San Diego’s 2026-27 offseason is being framed as a pivotal one, and the front office is clearly treating it that way. Michael King remains high on the club’s list, but Skubal has emerged as the marquee name, the kind of arm that can change the entire conversation around a rotation.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Padres actually have better odds than the Dodgers to land the two-time Cy Young award winner. Heyman pegged San Diego at 4-1 to sign Skubal, while Los Angeles sits at 5-1.
“The Padres look like a big threat to the Mets for superstar free agent left-hander Tarik Skubal,” Heyman wrote. “While the Mets are perhaps considered the favorite for Skubal due to Steve Cohen’s largesse, the Padres are an interesting wild card in the derby.
Their new owners, Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones, are ‘very committed’ to winning, Padres GM A.J.
Preller said.”
Heyman also wrote, “They have excited and engaged new owners in Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones and baseball’s biggest go-for-it agent in A.J. Preller, and word is they are going to make a play instead of rumblings are gathering that they are going to make a play,” Heyman wrote.
The chase is far from a two-team race. Heyman said the Mets have the best odds to land Skubal, and the Toronto Blue Jays are the fourth known club scheduled to meet with him. At least two more teams are expected to be involved as well.
San Diego has already started doing its homework. The Padres brass met with Skubal’s agent, Scott Boras, during this week’s general managers’ meetings in Las Vegas. Next week, they are scheduled to meet with Skubal himself, and the new owners are expected to be there.
President of baseball operations A.J. Preller and the new ownership group are working to address a starting rotation that needs help. The Padres’ top offseason priority is clear, and Skubal fits the profile of the kind of major pursuit they’re willing to explore.
Even with less financial flexibility than the Dodgers or Mets, the Padres are still positioned to stay in the hunt for the biggest arm on the market. Skubal is the top prize this winter, and San Diego is acting like a team ready to push into that conversation.
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Both players bring the kind of flexibility the Dodgers tend to value, with the club evaluating not just defense but whether either can add enough offense to make the fit worthwhile. It is the sort of decision that can quietly shape a roster for months, especially for a team that likes to keep its bench and infield mix adaptable, and the next move will say plenty about how aggressively the Dodgers want to address that opening. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers May Be Letting A Rival Steal A Major Rotation Prize
Tarik Skubal has quickly become one of the most closely watched names on the market, with the Dodgers among the clubs circling as they weigh how far to go for a frontline arm. Los Angeles has been tied to a short-term, high-value approach, which fits the way the club often balances urgency with long-term flexibility, but it is not the only contender in the mix. The Mets, Padres and Blue Jays are also involved, turning this into the kind of bidding situation that can move fast once one team decides to push harder.
The Blue Jays, in particular, appear capable of changing the conversation if they decide to lean into a longer-term proposal, the sort of structure they reportedly explored with Kyle Tucker. That leaves the Dodgers in an interesting spot, interested but maybe not yet as aggressive as some of the other suitors. With talks still ongoing, the question is whether Los Angeles is waiting for the market to come to it or whether a rival is about to set the pace on one of the winters biggest rotation prizes. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Face One Contract Problem In Tarik Skubal Pursuit
Tarik Skubals arrival last season gave the Dodgers exactly what they hoped for when they swung the trade, and he backed it up with strong work in both the regular season and the postseason. So it is no surprise that Los Angeles is expected to stay in the mix if the left-hander reaches free agency, especially for a club that has never shied away from chasing elite talent when it believes the fit is right.
The complication is the kind that can shape an entire winter: money. The Dodgers have to weigh the expected cost of a long-term Skubal deal against broader financial concerns, including the possibility of a future MLB salary cap, and that could make them more cautious than usual about how far they go. Even with their track record of landing top free agents, this is the sort of contract decision that can force a team to choose between staying aggressive and protecting its long-term flexibility. [Read more 🡒]