LAS VEGAS -- As a pitching-needy team with deep pockets, the Mets always made sense as a Tarik Skubal suitor.
They will proceed with their courtship next week when team officials fly to Los Angeles to meet with Skubal and his representatives, according to a source with knowledge of the meeting. Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes also said Tuesday that his team will meet with the two-time Cy Young Award winner.
Speaking near Gomes at the General Managers Meetings on Tuesday, David Stearns declined comment on Skubal, as he does with most free agents. Stearns did, however, push back on the narrative that he is averse to long-term deals for pitchers.
“Every situation is unique, and it’s been also well publicized even since I’ve been here -- we’ve engaged in extremely long-term negotiations for pitchers and we will do so again,” Stearns said. “But situation matters. The specific circumstance matters, and we do have to look at every individual pitcher on a case-by-case basis.”
The Mets entered this offseason with a group of young pitchers including Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Zac Thornton and Jonah Tong set to play roles in 2027. Veterans Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga will also return for the final years of their contracts. Tylor Megill should be healthy after losing this entire season to Tommy John surgery, while No. 2 prospect Jonathan Santucci leads a cluster of ready or near-ready pitchers on the farm.
Despite such depth, Stearns said, “there’s no question we’re going to add to that group.” The only uncertainty is how far the Mets will go in their pursuit of the top arm available.
Skubal, who will turn 30 next week, is arguably the finest pitcher in the game today, with a 50-20 record, a 2.47 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP over the last four seasons for the Tigers and Dodgers. His league-adjusted of 169 is the best in the Majors among pitchers with at least 300 innings over that stretch.
But Skubal also has a history of arm trouble, with multiple elbow surgeries since 2023. Despite having seven seasons in the Majors, Skubal has thrown just 925 1/3 innings. His career high is 195 1/3, set last year.
Whether that sort of profile appeals to Stearns isn’t yet clear. Since joining the Mets, Stearns hasn’t given out a pitching contract longer or richer than the three-year, $75 million pact Manaea signed before the 2025 season. And that deal was more than three times larger than anything Stearns did for a pitcher over close to a decade in Milwaukee.
Owner Steve Cohen has demonstrated more of an appetite to spend on pitching, agreeing to massive average annual values for Max Scherzer (three years, $130 million) and Justin Verlander (two years, $86.7 million) before Stearns came aboard. Cohen also authorized a long-term contract for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who ultimately signed with the Dodgers on a record-setting 12-year, $325 million deal.
Many around the industry expect Skubal to top Yamamoto’s deal.
“Steve has demonstrated repeatedly throughout his ownership tenure that he’s going to support baseball operations and baseball operations needs, and I expect that to be the case this offseason as well,” Stearns said.
If the Mets don’t sign Skubal, they can pivot to the next-best pitchers available on the open market, Clay Holmes and Michael King, or they can dip into a trade market that may come to include Drew Rasmussen of the Rays, Joe Ryan of the Twins, Reid Detmers of the Angels and others. Last year, Stearns used the trade market to acquire Freddy Peralta, whom the Mets believed could solve a similar problem for them. This year, after selling Peralta and others at the Trade Deadline, the team has even more prospect capital to spend.
The coming weeks should provide more clarity on Skubal and the pitching market. In the interim, the Mets will work, as Stearns put it, “to evaluate all opportunities.”
“We have a lot of confidence in the arms that we have in-house, and a good segment of that group showed over the second half of the year that they can compete at a high level with the Major Leagues,” Stearns said. “We’re going to add to that group. There’s no question we’re going to add to that group.”