The Padres are staring at a rotation overhaul this offseason, and the biggest name on the market is already on their radar.
According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, San Diego has “already have expressed interested in Tarik Skubal.” Morosi also said the Padres are “among the most active teams in the free agent starter market.”
That’s the kind of report that turns heads, because Skubal isn’t just the top pitcher available - he’s projected to land the richest contract ever for a pitcher in MLB history. A deal north of $400 million wouldn’t be a shock.
For a team that already carries a hefty payroll, the question is obvious: can the Padres really chase a megadeal like that and still patch all the other holes on the roster?
Their new ownership appears willing to find out.
Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones bought the franchise earlier this year for an MLB-record $3.9 billion, and their first major test came at the trade deadline.
They gave president of baseball operations AJ Preller the green light to push in, and he added starting pitchers Casey Mize and Robbie Ray. Now, the same aggressive approach seems to be carrying into the winter.
Morosi’s report is the first clear sign that San Diego is not just monitoring Skubal - it’s actually engaged. And that fits the tone Preller set after the season, when he made it clear the club expects to attack the pitching market hard.
“The idea that we have a little bit of a blank canvas and have some flexibility, I think we see that as an opportunity,” Preller said. “There’s some good pitching available on the market. We have some good pitchers that we like here at Petco [Park] that are coming back for us.
“Every year we talk about it: You’ve got to be willing to revamp your pitching staff. This offseason will be no different. We’ll have some opportunity, I think, this offseason to build a staff that we think is a championship staff through free agency, trades and continuing to develop.”
Skubal would give them exactly what they’ve lacked: a true ace. He’s one of the game’s premier arms, a Cy Young winner in both 2024 and 2025 in the American League. This season, he made 26 starts between the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers, going 12-7 with a 2.72 ERA and 186 strikeouts over 158.2 innings.
The challenge is the rest of the rotation picture around him. After Michael King opted out of his contract and the Padres declined Nick Pivetta’s option, San Diego could be looking at as many as five new starters this offseason.
Randy Vasquez is the only clear returning starter, and even he fell out of the rotation equation in 2026. Joe Musgrove, who returned in this year’s postseason after missing two years, is also back, though his role remains unclear.
So yes, the Padres want Skubal. The bigger question is whether they can land him and still do enough to rebuild the rest of the staff.
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Michael King, Nick Pivetta and Walker Buehler have all said theyd be interested in coming back, but none has signed on yet, and that uncertainty hangs over the rest of the picture. Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish add another layer of questions as the Padres sort through who fits where, and for Preller, the challenge is less about patching holes than rebuilding a rotation with real expectations attached. [Read more 🡒]