Tarik Skubal situation helps explain the lack of NY Mets starting pitcher additions

Kyle Tucker entered the New York Mets rumors pantheon seemingly out of nowhere. We went into 2026 without much thought of him ever playing for the Mets. Then something turned. The idea of him taking a short-term deal was a reality, not just fantasy. It’s precisely what he did end up doing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but not before the Mets gave him a gigantic offer of their own.

One could say the plan all along was to wait and see with him. It would’ve made the offseason make more sense.

The same seems to be coming true with Tarik Skubal. An even easier determination would have been how far off Skubal and the Detroit Tigers would have been in arbitration filing numbers. Is anyone surprised? It’s the mammoth $13 million difference between the two that should have Skubal trade rumors buzzing once more. According to Buster Olney during a recent podcast appearance on Just Baseball, it’s precisely what is happening right now.

The Tigers lost their edge in Tarik Skubal trade negotiations and the Mets might’ve seen it coming

Was it all a part of the plan, again? We’d like to think David Stearns is a baseball genius who can predict such things. In truth, no one could have completely seen things playing out this way.

Skubal could have already been swapped well before the impending arbitration hearing which feels like it could get nasty. With Scott Boras representing Skubal, Tigers management better prepare for an onslaught of puns and poorly-conceived dad jokes; as opposed to the award winning ones, right?

We’ll need to give Stearns a standing ovation if the lack of starting pitching resolution was all about waiting for this moment. Imagine if the Mets had already completed their rotation and left no true way to fit Skubal into the plans. There probably wouldn’t be too many situations where they couldn’t fit him in. Even if they were to replace Kodai Senga and David Peterson with two upgrades, you can always sell Clay Holmes to the highest bidder even if you really like what he gave you last year. You do just about anything for a year of Skubal.

Just because the Tigers have added incentive to trade Skubal both financially and to avoid the distraction doesn’t mean he’s going to cost any less. Your big, bold Mets trade package for him you assembled back in October should be revisited. The only difference now is Brett Baty can be included.

Stearns knows firsthand about Cy Young winners, arbitration, and ownership having a different idea of contract value. Skubal is different, however, than the Corbin Burnes situation with the Milwaukee Brewers. They were fighting over $740,000 in 2023.

All ideas of the Mets trading or signing for a different starting pitcher now need to go on hold. His arbitration hearing would take place between January 26-February 13, setting a deadline probably closer to the beginning stage of that time period. The Tigers could trade him during this period or even after the fallout, but the more realistic situation would probably have Detroit shuttling him out within days if they do at all.

It has been a semi-aggressive offseason for the Mets. The big fish like Skubal have swam around for a long time. Finally, with perhaps some insight or intuition into how things would play out between him and the Tigers, prepare for a week of non-stop Mets-Skubal trade buzz.