Top Landing Spots for Free Agent Tarik Skubal

It’s not often that a two-time Cy Young Award winner becomes available on the free agent market.

Yet, here we are now, with Tarik Skubal and agent Scott Boras seeking to secure one of the biggest contracts ever awarded to a starting pitcher.

If anyone can fetch such a deal, it’s Skubal. Since returning from flexor tendon surgery in July of 2023, the southpaw has led all qualified pitchers across the majors in the following categories: fWAR (21.3), ERA (2.47), FIP (2.42), K% (31.6%), and xFIP (2.71). He also ranks second in total strikeouts and K/9 (757 and 10.88, respectively), second in batting average against (.203), and sixth in innings pitched (626.1).

Only two other pitchers have held a sub-3.00 ERA since then; none besides Skubal remain under 2.50. Just two more have posted marks of 3.50 or below. A similar story is told with FIP, or xFIP, or virtually any other statistic you can find: Tarik Skubal is one of a kind.

As a result, every front office in the league will do their due diligence and check on the left-hander’s robust market.

Even so, the majority of teams are forecast to be priced out, or will be unwilling to commit an extensive portion of their payroll to just one player.

But that won’t kill Skubal’s market.

With his pedigree, there are bound to be serious suitors. A pitcher of Skubal’s caliber can turn even a borderline contender into a championship-caliber team.

Free Agent Profile: Tarik Skubal

• Age in 2027: 30

• 2026 Stats: 26 GS (158.2 IP), 2.72 ERA, 2.51 FIP, 5.2 fWAR

• 2026 Salary: $32 million

• Qualifying Offer: No

Contract Projection

• Contract Length Expectation: 6-9 years

• Expected AAV: $40-50 million

Skubal’s postseason run only reinforced what we knew about his abilities. While the Dodgers failed to come out on top, he gave them a chance to win each time he took the mound.

Through 11.0 innings, he sat 14 batters down on strikes and allowed just three earned runs (2.45 ERA). He’s done it consistently throughout the regular season and on every stage but the World Series. Skubal is a winning player.

He’s also made it plenty clear that one of his priorities is to win. He’s yet to become a World Series victor, or even play in the Fall Classic, for that matter.

Each of the following organizations can ultimately provide their (potentially) newly acquired ace with a very specific opportunity: to compete year in and year out for the Commissioner’s Trophy.

Here are the top landing spots for the star free agent pitcher.

New York Mets

Fresh off one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, the Mets actually aren’t all that far from a serious contention window.

Their phenomenal rookie class (Nolan McLean, Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, etc.) showcased the promising future in store in Queens. Consider the fact that Juan Soto is still just 28 years old, and Bo Bichette is opting into his player option for 2027, and it seems like the Mets might just have one of the best emerging cores in baseball.

Regardless, one glaring hole remains: the rotation.

At this point, New York’s set to roll with some combination of McLean, Scott, Sean Manaea, Zac Thornton, Kodai Senga, Tobias Myers, and Jonah Tong. They’re also coming off a season in which their starting pitching staff managed a 4.47 ERA, ranking 23rd in the league.

For a team looking to bring their first World Series title home since 1986, that just isn’t going to cut it.

Luckily, Steve Cohen hasn’t shied away from big contracts during his time in New York. The Mets are one of the few teams that could, and should, make a serious pursuit of Skubal.

Pairing Skubal with McLean at the top of their rotation would make for one of the best one-two punches in all of baseball; almost certainly top five. Doing so would also alleviate some of the pressure on the Mets’ younger pitchers.

No move makes more sense for the Mets than bringing in Skubal.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Although they fell short of the coveted “three-peat,” the Dodgers’ powerhouse is in no danger of falling into a slumber.

With a core that will largely remain the same heading into 2027 and another crop of top prospects on the way, Los Angeles is capable of extending their competitive window indefinitely. Plus, it’s no secret that they’re not afraid to spend.

Keeping Skubal in Dodger blue just makes sense. The circumstances surrounding his acquisition perfectly describe why.

Aside from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers’ rotation didn’t have a pretty ending to the first half. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow both hit the injured list early in the season, leaving Los Angeles’ rotation running on fumes. Justin Wrobleski and Eric Lauer noticeably struggled as the season went on, and Emmet Sheehan never really got going to start with.

The Skubal acquisition was a necessary reinforcement at the time, and continued to be for the remainder of the regular season.

After the trade deadline, Skubal and Yamamoto combined to make 18 starts. Of those 18 games, the Dodgers won 15, good for a .722 winning percentage.

By season’s end, Glasnow and Snell completed their rehab assignments and readily joined the team’s postseason roster. Yet, that won’t inspire false confidence in Andrew Friedman and the rest of the Dodgers’ front office.

With a rotation filled with pitchers plagued by injury over the past few years, an additional anchor at the top would do wonders. Skubal has had just one stint on the injured list since returning in late 2023, and has been one of the most reliable starters in the major leagues.

The Dodgers have shown their inability to resist star power time and time again, so a reunion with the market’s top player wouldn’t be shocking in the slightest.

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox entered 2026 with minimal expectations. They were fresh off their third straight season with 100+ losses and constructed a roster reliant on rookie talent. They finished 2026 as a playoff team and one of the biggest stories in baseball.

Their core, like the Mets’, is here to stay. Also like the Mets, they are heavily position player-oriented.

Miguel Vargas took a massive step forward this season, enjoying his best year to date. Chase Meidroth demonstrated his capabilities, and Sam Antonacci burst onto the scene. Munetaka Murakami was well worth every dollar.

Sean Burke seems like a mainstay of the rotation on the South Side of Chicago, which ended the year with a 4.60 ERA (26th in the majors). The rest of the starting five is a question mark.

Bringing in Skubal would give the White Sox a surefire ace for the first time in quite a while. With several young starters like Hagen Smith, Noah Schultz and Drew Thorpe still looking to take the next step, an established pitcher like Skubal could be the difference for this young squad.

The White Sox’s current payroll commitments put them well below league average, and they have even less committed for 2028, despite an obvious contention window blooming. With financial capability and a clear need for pitching, the ball is in Chicago’s court.

If Chris Getz and company are willing to issue Skubal a record-breaking contract, the White Sox could make the surprise splash of the offseason.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs put together one of the most impressive offensive performances of any team during the 2026 season. Their starting pitching staff was also among the bottom third of playoff-bound teams; not exactly a recipe for success.

Now, Shota Imanaga, Kevin Gausman, Matthew Boyd, Clay Holmes, and David Peterson – who could reasonably make up an entire rotation – are all free agents! What was already a thin starting pitching staff is left with an abundance of question marks.

Seiya Suzuki, Tyrone Taylor, and Ian Happ, among others, also hit the free agent market, meaning Jed Hoyer and company will have plenty of work to do this offseason.

What comes with many free agents, though? Lots of money coming off the books. With their gigantic free agent class, the Cubs’ luxury tax payroll is projected to decrease by about $90 million heading into 2027. Now, that number won’t stick as acquisitions are made, but it leaves Chicago with plenty of room to operate in the market.

They’ll have the financial capabilities to bring in Tarik Skubal.

The fit is practically a no-brainer. This Cubs’ squad is in desperate need of starting pitching, so who better to add than the league’s best pitcher? With Pete Crow-Armstrong’s emergence, and Alex Bregman and Dansby Swanson’s contracts already on the books, the time to go in is now.

With the team’s current outlook, this offseason may very well end up as Skubal-or-bust for Hoyer and the rest of the Cubs’ front office.