How much do the Dodgers need to re-sign Skubal?

LOS ANGELES -- When it comes to the Dodgers' interest in bringing back Tarik Skubal, it may not really be a question of whether they want him.

Skubal is a cut above every other free agent this offseason, a two-time AL Cy Young Award winner who is expected to command a record-breaking contract on the open market. He went 12-7 with a 2.72 ERA in 26 starts in his walk year, which was disrupted by a six-week absence due to surgery to remove a loose body from his left elbow.

Any rotation in the Majors would get better with Skubal. On some level, every team may want him. But some teams need him, and whether that applies to the Dodgers could influence how aggressively they will move to bring him back.

Neither Skubal nor the Dodgers have commented outright on their interest in a reunion, although both sides have spoken favorably about each other.

"Incredible organization, incredible teammates, incredible fanbase," Skubal said after the Dodgers were eliminated in the NLCS. "Honored to wear the L.A. across your chest and on the hat."

The Dodgers already showed how much they value Skubal's pure talent by swinging big to acquire him from Detroit as a rental last Trade Deadline, giving up MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects Zyhir Hope (No. 26) and River Ryan (No. 64) plus Brady Smith (now the Tigers' No. 9 prospect). In Skubal's fewer than three months in L.A., they gained an equivalent appreciation for who he is as a person.

"The way he was able to seamlessly transition, not just in terms of on the field but in the clubhouse, I can't say enough good things about the impact that he made in such a short period of time," president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. "We have a tremendous amount of respect for him on and off the field, and for us, he's put himself in this position to go out and be a free agent. And for us, it's continue to talk to Scott [Boras, his agent].

"But he and his family have to make a choice over where they want to spend the next X number of years, and obviously we wish him nothing but the best."

Not much reading between the lines is required to understand that the Dodgers would like to have Skubal back. Friedman's philosophy toward free agents or trade targets has generally been consistent: There are limited opportunities to acquire a bona fide superstar, and when those opportunities arise, he will do all he can to bring them to L.A.

But while Skubal was a great fit with the Dodgers, frontline starting pitching is not necessarily an acute need. L.A. is practically resplendent with rotation depth, although in the past several years, the team has pushed that depth to the limit.

On the 40-man roster alone, the Dodgers have a wealth of rotation options: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Shohei Ohtani, Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone, Justin Wrobleski and Landon Knack. That's without counting several pitchers who were starters for much of their professional careers but have since shifted to relief, such as Ben Casparius, Kyle Hurt and Bobby Miller.

The Dodgers also have some intriguing Top 30 prospects who ended this past season in the upper Minors, a group headlined by Christian Zazueta (No. 5), Adam Serwinowski (No. 14) and Jackson Ferris (No. 17) -- all of whom are eligible to be selected in the next Rule 5 Draft unless they are added to the 40-man roster.

On paper, there's not a pressing need for another frontline arm. But even the best-laid rotation plans are disrupted by injuries or performance. Snell and Glasnow combined to make 22 starts last regular season. Ohtani's pitching workload may be managed differently in the interest of sustaining him as a full two-way player through the postseason. The Dodgers lack a clear No. 6 starter (when Ohtani is in the rotation) among leading options Sheehan, Wrobleski and Stone.

So while signing Skubal might not be a true need for the Dodgers, he could provide some real stability -- taking some pressure off Yamamoto, the ace and the anchor of last year's rotation.

Other teams may need Skubal more, but the Dodgers' want for him could be just as strong. Opportunities to bring in a player of his caliber don't come around often. They seized on the moment at the Trade Deadline, and they will have a chance to do it again this offseason.