The Padres are moving deeper into the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes.
San Diego is expected to sit down with the free-agent left-hander in person next week after president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and his staff already spent time discussing him with agent Scott Boras at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas, according to Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of The Athletic, as relayed by RealGM. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi had previously reported the Padres’ interest, and this next step would give Preller and company a chance to make their case directly to the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner.
Skubal, 29, is coming off a season in which he posted a 2.72 ERA with 186 strikeouts over 158 2/3 innings in 26 starts. He began the 2026 regular season with the Detroit Tigers before the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired him in August.
San Diego isn’t alone in the chase. MLB.com reported that the Dodgers, New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays are also expected to meet with Skubal.
The Padres have plenty of rotation work ahead of them. Michael King, Nick Pivetta, Robbie Ray, Casey Mize and Walker Buehler are all free agents, and there’s also uncertainty around how many innings Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish can provide next season. To help fill the gap, the club has already added former Houston Astros right-hander Ryan Weiss as another arm in the mix.
Preller said at the GM Meetings that the team needs multiple pitchers it can trust for innings, and that need is only more pressing as the roster takes shape under new owners José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones. The Padres already have major long-term money tied up in Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts, so landing Skubal would almost certainly mean another significant commitment.
For now, the next big step is simple: get Skubal in the room and make the pitch.
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