The Dodgers are heading home, and that exit may ripple well beyond Los Angeles. One likely outcome: the Blue Jays should be right in the middle of the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes.
Skubal is the winter’s biggest prize, a two-time Cy Young winner projected to land the richest pitcher contract ever signed. That mark currently belongs to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who passed on Toronto and signed a 12-year, $325-million deal with the Dodgers. Skubal, though, would look plenty good in a Blue Jays uniform.
Early signs point to Los Angeles sitting this one out. The Dodgers have piled up major contracts, but they’re not expected to make a mega offer for Skubal before the December 1st lockout, per @Alden_Gonzalez. Skubal also declined to discuss his free agency after the Dodgers were bounced.
Blue Jays make sense as a landing spot for free agent pitcher Tarik Skubal
Toronto stands out as one of the few clubs that can realistically chase him. The Blue Jays have deep-pocketed ownership and a clear hunger to win after a frustrating 2026 regular season.
And players like Skubal do not come along often. He has the kind of stuff and track record that should age well, even if he’s eventually working deeper into a long free-agent deal.
It’s also not hard to see why the Dodgers may want to pump the brakes. They’ve leaned on huge deferrals to lower the net present value of their biggest contracts, but those bills are still waiting down the road. On top of that, the financial picture around owner Mark Walter has grown murkier because of recent allegations.
The Dodgers thought they had the perfect deadline answer when they landed the game’s best starting pitcher, and for a while the plan looked airtight. Skubal backed it up in California, putting together a 2.45 ERA and 14 strikeouts across 11 postseason innings. After arriving from the Detroit Tigers in early August, he logged a 2.61 ERA with 70 strikeouts and 13 walks over 62 innings in 10 starts.
Even with all that, Los Angeles still fell to the small-market Brewers, a reminder that even the deepest roster doesn’t guarantee October’s final prize. With a lockout expected in early December, Skubal’s market could move in unpredictable ways, and a possible salary cap could make Toronto think twice about jumping into a bidding war.
Still, the Blue Jays have reasons to push. They need to fix an offense that shockingly sat near the bottom in several statistical categories, and the rotation already has a useful base with Dylan Cease, José Soriano, a hopefully-healthy Cody Ponce, and Trey Yesavage. If Toronto wants to turn that group into a true strength, Skubal should be the headliner - a pitcher who can realistically be counted on for 25-30 starts a year.
The Blue Jays showed last winter that they were willing to stretch for a top-end arm when they pursued Cease. Skubal would live in a different financial universe, but if Toronto goes after him, it would reinforce the idea that the club intends to keep showing up as one of the big spenders in free agency.
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For Toronto, the timing is the uncomfortable part of the conversation. Mayzas revival in Philadelphia has reopened a debate the Blue Jays know well about whether they moved on too soon from a pitcher who could still help a contender, even after a circuitous journey through the league. Instead, he now stays in place with the Phillies after a season that reminded everyone how quickly a reliever can change the way a team views him. [Read more 🡒]