Tarik Skubal will have a lot to think about this offseason. Not just about the fact that it was yet another early playoff exit after the Detroit Tigers wasted a brilliant start from the lefty in Game 5 of the ALCS. But the fact that he has to now consider whether his future still lies in Detroit. The 2026 season will be Skubal's last before hitting free agency, and while the two sides have engaged in talks about a contract extension, things have stalled so far.
Between the decision to pull him early in what ended up being a 15-inning marathon and not providing him the run support needed to keep the team's season alive, Skubal has to decide if staying in Detroit is the best thing for him. He’ll be a highly sought after free agent next winter, or a trade piece if negotiations break down this winter.
That said, this last playoff exit might just seal his fate in Detroit and end his run with the Tigers. They need him, but it’s clear he can only do so much — and at the end of the day, Skubal needs to be with a team that will take some of the pressure off him while also scoring enough runs to actually win meaningful games. Here are four teams who fit the bill, and will be blowing up Scott Harris' phone if the Tigers can't get a new deal done.
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1. New York Mets
The New York Mets have one of the highest payrolls in all of baseball, and I’m sure they’ll want to add a player of Skubal’s caliber to their rotation. Scoring runs won’t be a problem for the Mets either: While the team might lose Pete Alonso this winter, they’ll still have Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto as the big bats in the lineup, plus top prospect Carson Benge coming soon.
New York had a disappointing 2025 season by their standards, as they still came up short of the postseason despite being big spenders and landing Soto a year ago. Though the Mets are probably a year away from being where they want to be anyway, I know adding a guy like Skubal is probably on their shortlist as they overhaul their starting rotation.
The Mets were hit with a lot of injuries to that group, which led to a collapse after a strong start. Adding Skubal would give them a certified ace; even if their depth got depleted, they could rely on Skubal to produce. The Mets are in a much better position than the Tigers, offensively. If Skubal could win with Detroit, imagine what he’d do with a strong lineup to back him up.
2. Toronto Blue Jays
Offense was a big problem for the Toronto Blue Jays, and then it wasn’t. Then pitching became a problem, and then that wasn’t either. Now the Blue Jays are in the ALCS, and the best way to build on a miraculous turnaround and playoff run in 2025 is to bolster their rotation with Skubal. Pitching was a major problem for most of the season for the Blue Jays and adding Skubal can start to solve that, especially with Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt and Shane Bieber potentially moving on in free agency.
The Blue Jays had to rely a lot on their bullpen this season thanks to inconsistent form from their starters. That won’t lead to year-over-year success. Adding Skubal will be a top priority if he becomes available: Toronto wasn’t able to add Soto last year (or Shohei Ohtani the year prior) like they had hoped, so they can’t falter at adding much-needed pitching help to turn this run into a dynasty.
It will be hard for them to beat out the usual big-spending suspects, but they have to be aggressive in adding Skubal if they want to be a serious contender in the American League for years to come.
3. Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox need to make up for the Walker Buehler mistake from last winter. They brought him in to be the No. 2 behind Garrett Crochet and he was inconsistent and frustrating for much of the season. Adding Skubal would not only help the Red Sox forget about Buehler, but it will also help them avenge an early playoff exit to rival New York Yankees this October.
The Red Sox had an interesting start to the 2025 season between the Rafael Devers drama, losing their starting first baseman to injury and then the fallout from abruptly trading Devers. All of that masked their pitching problem, which was headlined by Buehler’s shortcomings. Skubal can solve a lot of those problems.
I think the Red Sox might have actually gotten better offensively once they moved past Devers, so in theory, they should still have some good bats returning. I’m sure they’ll be interested in adding some offensive depth as well, but giving Crochet a running mate is the easiest way to level this team up over the winter.
4. Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia’s season ended a lot earlier than they expected it to, and now they have to figure out how long their championship window is going to last. I don’t know if Skubal directly extends their window, but it gives one of the hottest offenses around some insurance with an ace like Skubal holding down the starting rotation.
The running theme with the teams on this list is they either underperformed in the playoffs or they came up short in a season they probably should have made the playoffs in. The Phillies fit that as well, as they were near the top of the National League for most of the year. Philadelphia has to figure out how to navigate this offseason because it could be what determines if they’re contenders or not movnig forward.