Are the Mets ready to pay the price for Tarik Skubal? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

If the New York Mets are serious about rebuilding their rotation, they need Tarik Skubal. The best pitcher in baseball is entering his walk year without a contract, so the Detroit Tigers must listen, at the very least, since they have not yet signed the reigning Cy Young Award winner to an extension. The price is going to hurt, especially for GM David Stearns, who has proven to like cheap pitching, but it’s a move that is a foundation for the future.

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And it will cost part of that future.

Skubal is entering his walk year, represented by Scott Boras, and comes off a second Cy Young-level season. Reporting in October put the club and player valuations hundreds of millions apart. The Tigers were reportedly in the sub-$200 million world last winter and Skubal’s camp was eyeing $400M-plus territory. That makes an extension a moonshot this winter.

Detroit faces tough decisions this winter. Do they trade now, keep and contend in a very winnable AL Central, or risk losing him for a compensatory pick after 2026?

The Mets can tempt the Tigers into the trade now territory with their prospects.

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A plausible Tigers opening salvo would be headlined by Nolan McLean, the 24-year-old former two-way who debuted in August with premium stuff. Detroit would also ask for another near-ready piece and a top-100 bat. McLean’s rapid rise and starter traits make him the first name rival execs mention for a Mets-Tigers framework.

Tarik Skubal’s 2025 was once again dominant. He was 13–6, 2.21 ERA over 195.1 IP with 241 K (MLB 2nd) and an MLB-best 0.89 WHIP; he also led the AL in ERA, FIP (2.45) and K/BB (7.3), and topped AL pitchers in bWAR (6.6).For his career, he’s at 54–37, 3.08 ERA, 889 K, and a 1.025 WHIP in 766.2 IP.Under the hood, the indicators match the trophy case: a stingy .258 xwOBA with soft contact (86.1 mph avg EV, 33% hard-hit rate) on Baseball Savant, plus an elite strikeout rate (about 32%) with excellent walk suppression on FanGraphs; his four-seam shows above-average “ride” (12″ drop vs ~16″ league), and the changeup features strong arm-side run for whiffs.

Detroit has the leverage of time and scarcity.  This winter’s market is deep, but there’s no other one-year rental that turns you into a World Series contender overnight the way Skubal does. That’s precisely why the price will feel like overpaying and precisely why contenders, the Mets included, will keep calling.