Mets Already Favorites For Tarik Skubal | Straight Outta Flushing

How we doing, everybody? It's Tyler Ward, a.k.a. Wardy here, and our latest breakdown on all things New York Mets for the Straight Out Flushing podcast here on the New York Post Sports YouTube channel. We're going to deep dive the latest regarding the New York Mets and their pursuit of one Tarik Skubal, and how, currently speaking, the New York Mets are appearing to be the favorites to land the coveted Southpaw for the 2027 season and beyond. So why exactly is that, and what reporting has dropped over the past couple days that have further led us in that direction at the time I was talking right now is what we're going to find ourselves getting into, along with ultimately why the New York Mets should do everything it takes to land the back-to-back Cy Young winner. So let us know your thoughts in the comments down below, everybody. Make sure to rate, review wherever you get your podcasts here for Straight Outta Flushing. And make sure to subscribe here to the New York Post Sports YouTube channel for all things New York Metropolitans. Now, to get right into today's discussion, let's first break down the obvious. Tarik Skubal is one of, if not the best starter in Major League Baseball. At the young age of 29, the Southpaw finished yet another dominant year this time between the Detroit Tigers and the L.A. Dodgers, a team that he was thinking he was going to go on and win a championship with instead is swept by the Milwaukee Brewers and now is facing a really, really interesting offseason with the inevitable lockout likely to happen around December 1st. So for Skubal in just under 160 innings this year, still right around a 10.5K per nine to 1.5 walks per nine, a sub-3 ERA and sub-3 expected ERA, over five more seasons per FanGraphs, making three consecutive years for the dominant southpaw of having five wins or more of total value as a pitcher. We saw in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, 190-plus innings in each of those two years for the Tigers, in which he posted right around 11K per nine to right around a one, one-and-a-half walks per nine, one of the best K-to-walk ratios you see in the game, back-to-back years with over 200 strikeouts and back-to-back years with over six WAR of total value as a pitcher, okay? Tarek Skubal is understandably so as is Scott Boras' client seeking $400 million on a long-term contract, which seems absolutely asinine, but with how inflated the markets are nowadays and how lopsided it is with teams like the Dodgers, the Mets, and select others versus the rest of the pack, knowing this structure is the way that it is, there are going to be teams like the Mets in particular looking to take advantage of it knowing that an offseason from now, once the 2027 year concludes, when looking at playing for these teams in regular season and playoffs, the new CBA will kick in, which means that payout structures and the way that teams ultimately pursue players could be vastly different. Time will tell on that front. But given that uncertainty and given that Tarek is leaps and bounds, the best starter available in this year's free agent class and what's an unbelievably weak class, it is setting the stage for teams like the New York Mets in particular to go at him and give their best efforts in landing him. So what is there that you need to know about Tarik Skubal besides the fact that he casually dots 100 on the gun as someone that has Moxie on the mound that everyone wants from their true ace? Well, it's also what Tarik can bring beyond just the on-field product. It's off the field. We think about the exclusive interview with our friend here at The Post, Mike Puma, reporting with the dominant young Zach Thornton, who posted a 3.4 ERA and 80 or so innings, and his rookie year for the Mets this year. Zach, over the past week, stated to Mike here at The Post that, yes, I would love Tarik Skubal. You know, Nolan McClain talked with Tarik back when they were teammates on Team USA's World Baseball Classic team back in March this year about the possibility of, you know, playing together. And naturally, Thornton would love to pick the brain of one of the best starters in baseball, especially his southpaw, in which there aren't nearly as many in today's game, let alone that dominate to the extent that either Zach Thornton did in his rookie year or the way that Tarik Skubal has that has really separated himself from the rest of the pack for the most part, right? So we see Mets players, young Mets players, are expected to be in this rotation for years to come, fully advocating for the Tarik Skubal pursuit. Juan Soto has been on record here with the Post over the past couple weeks, also stating that he would love the Mets to do everything in their power this offseason. Spend, spend, spend, basically, is what Juan has said in regards to Steve Cohen and what the Mets should do. No stone should go unturned, and the Mets should absolutely be putting their best efforts in. And for a David Stearns who said in his end-of-season presser this year that the Mets will be looking to add starting pitching, front-line starting pitching in particular, it is again paving the way for change over the past couple days. Well, the following reports have dropped. Pressing-wise, well, we have heard through Chelsea Janes that the expectations that the New York Mets will match any offer given to Tarik Skubal, and that they will essentially, according to industry belief, do whatever it takes to land the coveted Southpaw. Now, there's one thing we know about Steve Cohen. When he wants something, it's definitely not for lack of effort in trying to land that player. Whether it's Juan Soto, in which there was widespread belief and connection from before Soto became a free agent to when he was a free agent throughout every single day and week process until he signed with the Mets, to obviously other player pursuits that we saw over the years. And in particular, I think about the last time the Mets were in a position to acquire a starter with an unofficial deadline on December 1st because of the upcoming lockout. And with a Dodgers team, according to Alden Gonzalez, who does fantastic reporting through ESPN for the Dodgers, if I'm not mistaking. He did state there more so in suggestion than certain fact, but did state how there's also a great belief that the Dodgers are not going to be wanting to throw the big dollars at Tarik prior to the December 1st deadline when the lockout will then kick in because of the uncertainty with the next CBA and how that could impact their payroll for years to come. There is many out there that believe that Tarik Skubal is a one and done during his time with the Dodgers, eerily similar to Max Scherzer being a one-and-done for only half a season after being dealt from the Nationals to the Dodgers all those years ago. We saw Max then hit the free agent market and sign with a team other than the New York Mets before that December 1st deadline. Fast forward four years later, the Mets are positioned to do that yet again with a rental that was acquired by the LA Dodgers, this time in Tarik Skubal And yes, we are well aware that David Stearns doesn't usually have the appetite to want to give long-term contracts to starters, but Tarik is an exception. Steve Cohen will be the first to tell you how talented Tarik is. Obviously, this is a guy that would do wonders for this Mets rotation. And if you can go out and land a player that gives you a minimum five more for your rotation extra, you don't even think twice about it. As long as the expenditures that come along with acquiring Tarik Skubal do not prohibit the Mets from making proper moves elsewhere for the organization, there's no reason for them not to do everything in their power to land said player. So the combination of the Dodgers having a level of likely reluctance to do what it takes to land Tarik to bring him back, and the Mets knowing that Tarik Skubal does not have a qualifying offer attached to him, as in the prime of his career, and if there's anything that we can learn from how the Yankees have operated, while yes, they still have yet to get over that hump with the Carlos Rodons, the Max Frieds, and the Garrett Coleys of the world, there's obviously a lot of benefit when giving these long-term contracts to starters that are deserving of it. Carlos isn't in the same degree of consistent pedigree and dominance as Max Freed and Garrett Cole, but nonetheless you know you have to pay to land these top talents and in order to land Juan Soto, the Mets had to give him a 15-year contract worth of 800 million dollars in total value right for Tarik Skubal who is the Juan Soto of starters in this year's market pulling a nice little Scott Boras wordplay because that's exactly what I would expect him to say in this year's uh you know presser when talking about Skubal and his availability Tarek's gonna be getting anywhere from likely 50 to 60 mil AAV okay and that's not overly surprising and it's pretty deserving for a guy who's won back to back Cy Youngs it might not be deserving on the grand scheme of things when looking at how absurd these payouts are for players but given the status of the market and how lopsided is how top heavy it is the New York Mets aren't going to have endless teams to bid against there will be a select few the Dodgers will be in there but there's one team that i would argue to keep an eye on for for sure it's the LA Angels the angels have a new ownership group the same ownership group that owns Arsenal out of the premier league the Colorado Avalanche as well as the Denver Nuggets and there is one more team in that group that i'm blanking on the moment but i know it's a prominent one from a different sport the point that i'm trying to make here is that the angels are now finally positioned with an absurdly wealthy owner up there is the most He's wealthy in the game, along with Steve Cohen, along with the Blue Jays and others, and is ready to really make the Angels a competitor as soon as next year. Tarik Skubal has been on record talking about how the Angels are going to become a destination where people are going to want to go to. This was around the time that Skubal was at the deadline this year. It was either right before or after he got traded to the Dodgers. I want to say it was before. But nonetheless, though, you're going to see a team like the Angels swoop in now and get ready to spend big dollars. You're going to see some other teams also try to take advantage of the market with a structure likely to change a year from now and why to use it to their advantage? Could a team like the Mets and others really maximize the essential loophole, if you will, with deferred payments and utilizing the structure in a way that they may not be able to account for a year from now to land someone like Skubal? That very well can become a reality. What also can be a reality here is that the Mets can do everything in their power to land Skubal and he still won't land here. And it could simply have to do with the fact that he doesn't want to be a New York Met. Maybe he doesn't want to come to the East Coast. maybe he doesn't want to handle this market the media pressure the fanfare and everything else in between that's a very real possibility so if Skubal does not land with the New York Mets everybody something that we're going to be following very close attention to over the next number of weeks until he makes his inevitable decision either before the lockout which obviously Scott Boras is going to push heavily to do to get a payout while the current CBA is still happening and also wanting to take advantage of maybe a team like the New York Mets that really have nothing to lose to go all in on someone like him but separate from that it's also looking at exactly over the next number of weeks how this plays out and if this is something where the new the New York Mets did they do enough of to try to land it's not really going to be a conversation in that regard as much barring changes as i firmly believe it'll be if they put the effort in it won't be for lack thereof and if they don't land him it'll be probably like a Yamamoto situation where you give him the absolute bag and he just takes that and gets matched elsewhere for a team actually want to go to. Even if the Mets give an absurd dollar amount that separates themselves from the rest of the pack, that still might not be enough because we don't exactly know for certain what Skubal's incentive is here. Is it to just get solely the biggest contract imaginable, or is it getting the biggest contract and what's most comfortable for him and his family long-term? Will that comfortability be with the New York Mets? I hope so because I love the idea of him mowing down batters as a dominant southpaw. I've never witnessed a southpaw of Skubal's caliber ever in this Mets rotation as a Mets fan. I mean, Johan Santana is the last true dominant lefty that comes to mind and he wasn't known for dotting corners 100. He just had one of the best, if not the best, change in the game. For someone like Skubal, quite the contrast from the John Mises, the Stephen Matzes, the David Pearsons of the world. And while Zach Thornton is looking to work on his velocity this offseason, as he said it himself, is a goal for him, what's also true is that in order for Thornton to build on that velocity, a guy like Tarik Skubal could really help in that regard in sharing his two senses, techniques, and ultimately to maximize his size, his frame to his advantage. But everybody, let's know your thoughts in the comments down below. How do you feel about the latest regarding the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes and ultimately why the New York Mets, at the time of us talking right now, unless he does simply not want to be a New York Met and do not want to go to New York, the Mets are a favorite, if not the favorite, to land him. And it's going to be fascinating to see how these sweepstakes unfold over the next number of weeks, in which we'll be right here breaking down every step of the way. So until we get to our next Tarik Skubal discussion and more on the New York Mets this offseason. This is your guy, Tyler Ward, signing out. See you guys next time.