Blue Jays Crash the Tarik Skubal Sweepstakes as Free Agency Bidding War Heats Up
Jon Heyman reported the Blue Jays emerged as a 4th team in on Skubal and are expected to get a meeting.
The "mystery team" trope in baseball free agency is officially back, and this time it is surrounding the most coveted arm on the market. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports the have crashed the sweepstakes, securing a meeting with the superstar left-hander.
Toronto is flying out to California next week to join a heavyweight bidding war against the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Hearing that mystery teams are also lurking in a Heyman report usually just means an agent is trying to squeeze an extra $50 million out of Steve Cohen, but the Blue Jays' desperation is very real.
Skubal is the kind of pitcher who makes front offices completely lose their grip on financial reality. The two-time Cy Young winner just posted a 12-7 record with a 2.72 ERA and a microscopic 0.96 WHIP. That is not just an ace, that is a guy who single-handedly fixes a broken rotation.
And the Blue Jays are beyond broken right now. Toronto is coming off a miserable 79-83 season where they finished dead last in the AL East, a spectacular collapse just one year after a run. Their pitching depth chart currently reads like a medical journal, with José Berríos, Jameson Taillon, and all dealing with arm injuries.
Toronto also has a recent history of playing the bridesmaid in these massive sweepstakes. They aggressively chased Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker, only to watch both stars take the money and run to the Dodgers. Pitching Skubal is their chance to finally land the plane.
The Mets are still the obvious betting favorites to land him, given their bottomless pockets and desperate need for a true ace to pitch ahead of Nolan McLean. But Toronto entering the chat proves the bidding is going to get uncomfortable.
Skubal’s eventual signature is going to violently tilt the pennant odds in whichever league he chooses. We will find out next week if the Blue Jays can actually close a mega-deal, or if they are just providing free leverage for a guy about to sign in Los Angeles or New York.