The New York Mets are likely to be one of the more active teams during this year’s MLB offseason. With the looming MLB lockout in December, it’s going to be a busy November for the Mets.
There are plenty of areas of need for the Mets to explore this Fall, but maybe the most important area to figure out is the starting rotation. With the Mets a likely landing spot for Tarik Skubal, they might have an expensive offseason on the horizon as well.
In fact, ESPN’s Jorge Castillo called the Mets “the favorite” to sign Skubal. He provided two reasons why, and they’re incredibly simple reasons that point to the Mets being Skubal’s most likely landing spot this offseason.
2 reasons why the Mets are ‘the favorite’ to sign Tarik Skubal
“They are considered the favorite to land the prize of this free agent class for two reasons: (A) there’s a clear need for a top-tier starting pitching, (B) they’re one of the very few teams willing to pay top dollar for premier free agents.”
Just about every team in Major League Baseball would love to have Tarik Skubal on their team. Even teams with a stacked starting rotation would surely love to add Skubal if they could manage it.
But the Mets have a big need in their starting rotation, and they have reason to splurge in free agency to bring in the left-handed Cy Young winner on a massive new deal.
Teams like the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and even the Los Angeles Dodgers already have strong rotations, and don’t necessarily need to sign Skubal.
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But that need is just one reason why the Mets are favored to land Skubal. The other is a major hurdle most teams, like the Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays, and even the Chicago Cubs, might not be willing to overcome.
That issue is the massive contract Skubal is going to demand, potentially upwards of $400 million. There aren’t many teams willing to go that high for any player, let alone a starting pitcher.
The Mets, however, are one of those teams willing to splurge on a single player. So, between their huge need in the rotation and their ability to spend a lot of money on one player, the Mets have become the favorite to sign Skubal this November.
