Dodgers confirm pursuit of Skubal reunion this offseason

LOS ANGELES -- There was never really any doubt that the Dodgers were interested in this offseason's top free agent, but general manager Brandon Gomes acknowledged on Tuesday that the team is indeed pursuing a reunion with two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.

"We've been in touch with his camp, and our expectation is we'll meet at some point," Gomes told reporters, including MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince, at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas.

Skubal spent the final two and a half months of last season with the Dodgers, who acquired the left-hander in a Trade Deadline blockbuster with the Tigers. While L.A. ultimately failed to defend its back-to-back championships, Skubal met expectations and then some, going 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 10 regular-season starts and striking out 14 while allowing three runs in 11 innings (2.45 ERA) in two postseason starts.

Although Skubal's final season before free agency was disrupted by surgery to remove a loose body from his left elbow -- which cost him six weeks of recovery and rehab -- the soon-to-be 30-year-old still set himself up for quite the windfall on the open market. In all, he recorded a 2.72 ERA with 186 strikeouts against 27 walks in 158 2/3 innings.

Given his career résumé, Skubal could command the largest contract for a pitcher in MLB history, both in total and average annual value. Currently, Yoshinobu Yamamoto's 12-year, $325 contract represents the most guaranteed dollars committed to an MLB pitcher.

The Dodgers will almost always be in the mix whenever a bona fide superstar is available. They already jumped on one opportunity to acquire Skubal last summer, giving up MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects Zyhir Hope (No. 26) and River Ryan (No. 64) as part of the package. They gave up a lot to bring him in as a rental, and the club would have to make a large commitment to keep him in Dodger blue for the long term.

But there are other suitors for Skubal who may have a more pressing need for him. The Mets are among those teams and have reportedly scheduled a meeting with him for next week.

Skubal preferred not to comment on his free agency after his and the Dodgers' season ended in the NLCS, but he was highly complimentary of his experience in L.A. The team felt similarly about having him in the fold.

Free agency tends to be more complicated than how teams and players fit on paper, but the mutual appreciation between Skubal and the Dodgers could be a good starting point as the bids for his services begin to roll in this offseason.

"I know that he enjoyed his time here, we loved having him, so I think that's certainly helpful as far as these conversations go," Gomes said. "And outside of that, he's earned the right to be in this position and figure out what's best for him and his family. So we'll have those conversations as things go."