Free agency has officially begun, and the Dodgers are now on the clock to try to fortify their roster before the impending lockout.
Left-hander Tarik Skubal is atop the list of the most highly coveted free agents this offseason, and the Dodgers are not the only bidder for his services. Jeff Passan at ESPN reports that the New York Mets will compete with the Dodgers for the highest offer, while the Chicago Cubs want Skubal “badly.”
The two most obvious suitors are the two teams with the highest payrolls in baseball: The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. There are bound to be others. The Chicago Cubs badly want Skubal. They also are skeptical that they will be willing to compete at the sort of dollars Skubal is expected to get — well in excess of $300 million, potentially in the $400 million-plus range.
Alden Gonzalez of ESPN is more optimistic about the chances of Skubal returning to Los Angeles for 2027 and beyond.
He truly seemed to relish his 2½ months in Los Angeles. He loved the culture, particularly being among so many established, veteran players who were singularly focused on winning. He became besties with Blake Snell, was awed by the organization’s resources and, overall, seemed to fit in seamlessly.
Buster Olney of ESPN shared his thoughts on what type of deal Skubal is projected for, noting that a deal for him would resemble Kyle Tucker’s current deal with the Dodgers compared to Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s record setting deal.
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After two fantastic years of Shohei Ohtani in Dodger blue, the two-way superstar and still reigning two-time NL MVP award winner mired in a power drought in the second half and beyond that rendered him obsolete in the starting lineup. That was until he hit a towering three-run home run that gave the Dodgers their final runs of the 2026 postseason.
David Adler of MLB.com notes that Ohtani’s Game 4 home run in the NLCS could help him get back on track hitting-wise before the start of the 2027 season.
When we’re seeing Ohtani connect with the baseball with bat speeds like that, we know his swing is in the right place. Are we overanalyzing one home run? Maybe! But we think that one home run was a harbinger of what’s coming next year: the return of MVP-level Ohtani.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
