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NY Mets matching the best Tarik Skubal free agent offer isn't good enough

The Mets need to do better than that.
ByPat Ragazzo
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Oct 11, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) reacts during the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in game one of the NLCS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Oct 11, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) reacts during the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in game one of the NLCS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Mets are likely going to have to get into a bidding war if they want to land superstar pitcher Tarik Skubal this offseason. SNY insider Chelsea Janes recently said that she believes the Mets will match any big offer that Skubal receives, but the question that remains is whether Skubal wants to be a Met or not. Janes also reported that the "consensus" is that if Mets owner Steve Cohen wants Skubal, New York will "pay whatever it takes" to sign him.

The Mets certainly have the money to go get Skubal, but so do the Los Angeles Dodgers. Skubal just spent the end of the season with the Dodgers after the Detroit Tigers sent him to Los Angeles at the trade deadline. Realistically, Skubal would favor the Dodgers over the Mets given he pitched close to half a season with them.

As a result, if the Dodgers and Mets have the same offer out for Skubal, he would likely pick L.A. over New York. It just makes more sense since the Dodgers give Skubal a better chance to win a title in both the near and long-term and there's familiarity there.

How the Mets can land Tarik Skubal

In the end, money talks. The Mets are likely going to have to exceed any offer the Dodgers throw at Skubal in order to increase their chances of signing him away from Los Angeles. Just matching the Dodgers' offer won't be good enough in this case. The Mets will not only have to sell Skubal on their plan to win in the short and long-term, but also make him an offer he can't refuse.

Skubal's agent, Scott Boras, already got Gerrit Cole the richest contract for a starting pitcher in MLB history, a nine-year, $324 million deal with the New York Yankees. He will likely be able to exceed this figure with Skubal, who won back-to-back Cy Young Awards in 2024 and 2025. Boras also got Juan Soto the richest contract in professional sports at 15-years, $765 million, which came from the Mets.

It won't be easy for the Mets to sign Skubal, and bidding wars are never an easy task. But that's where the situation could go this offseason. How badly do the Mets want Skubal? They're going to have to get super aggressive like they did with Soto two years ago in order to land him. The highest offer should win out in this scenario. The Mets don't usually hand out long-term deals to starting pitchers nearing 30-years-old, but Skubal is a special case as a generational talent.

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