The Tarik Skubal sweepstakes is going to have the attention of fans around Major League Baseball over the next few months until the lefty superstar likely lands a historic deal in free agency.
Skubal, the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner, has been the most dominant pitcher in baseball over the last few years and he's going to get paid like it. Skubal is just 29 years old and the early rumors and buzz around his sweepstakes have been wild. The current record for the largest contract ever given to a starting pitcher is $325 million given to Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Skubal's market very well could surpass that this winter. Yamamoto was a few years younger when he got that deal, but he also had never thrown a pitch in the majors at the time.
Skubal has thrown plenty. Whoever lands him is going to have to open up the checkbook and hand him a lot of cash. But they will also be getting an ace at the top of the rotation that is nearly unhittable most of the time. But where will he go? MLB.com's Mark Feinsand broke down his market and floated six potential landing spots: Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Let's break down this information.
Best Landing Spot: New York Mets
Love them or hate them, baseball is better in general when the Mets are good. Pitching is an area where New York needs a facelift in. The Mets also need a new first baseman, but that's another story. If New York landed Skubal, he would be the ace that it has been chasing for a long time. New York is New York. If you can make the Mets good, it would be good for the sport in general.
Worst Landing Spot: Los Angeles Dodgers
This couldn't be more obvious. Part of the reason for the heightened nature of the labor negotiations is hard feelings across the league over the Dodgers' spending. If the Dodgers turn around and hand Skubal a historic deal, it would be the outcome that gets fans around the league the most fired up.
Most Fun Landing Spot: Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays had a bad 2026 season, but this is a club that pushed the Dodgers to Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. Toronto signed Dylan Cease last year and he was awesome throughout the campaign. Injuries dismantled the Blue Jays' rotation, though. The Blue Jays always try to sign the biggest star of the offseason. This year it's Skubal. If Toronto could get a deal done, it would have the best rotation in baseball on paper.
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