If the New York Mets hope to enter the World Series race during the 2026 MLB season, they must make a significant upgrade to their rotation over the offseason.
The Detroit Tigers might help them do exactly that.
While the Tigers have hardly committed to anything regarding a Tarik Skubal trade, they’ve also been reportedly less than committed on securing the soon-to-be two-time Cy Young winner’s future.
After first bringing word of a massive gap in contract extension talks, Jon Heyman of the New York Post now shared the details of Detroit’s shockingly low offer: $80 million for four years. Even if the Tigers have upped their offer since, they started their negotiations from such an insulting place that bridging this gap could be impossible.
That should be the Mets’ hope, anyhow. Drop a high-end talent at the top of their rotation, and suddenly their championship chances skyrocket.
And, let’s be honest, pitching talent doesn’t get more high-end than this.
Skubal was the unanimous choice for AL Cy Young last season, and he was even better this time around. He pitched to a 2.21 ERA and 0.891 WHIP while generating 241 strikeouts (and only 33 walks) in his 195.1 innings.
He’s as close to unhittable as any starter in today’s game. If you’re wondering why that doesn’t make him an obvious keeper for Detroit, that’s because he’s ticketed for free agency after next season. And the Tigers don’t seem anywhere close to comfortable with covering the potential cost, with Heyman previously reporting Skubal’s “baseline ask” is $400 million.
This is what potential pitching poachers have been waiting to hear.
The Mets might be at the front of that line. A previous report from The Athletic’s Will Sammon, noted the Mets “are expected to get involved” in Skubal trade talks. Sammon also opined that the Tigers’ asking price may be “two top-level starting pitchers and a position player prospect.”
New York could make that happen. Between pitching prospects like Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat and position player prospects like Carson Benge and Jett Williams, the Mets have the up-and-comers needed to get the Tigers’ attention. And if Detroit wants more established talent to try staying competitive without Skubal, New York can offer that, too.
Look, the trade price will be steep, but that’s the cost of acquiring elite talent. And, yes, the contract cost to keep Skubal could be enormous, but we’re talking about a franchise that just shelled out $765 million for Juan Soto, so they aren’t about to run away from big contract numbers.
In other words, the Mets can afford this. They also need it to happen, since a full-fledged ace might be the only piece missing from their championship puzzle.
No player better fits that bill than Skubal. And the more we here about his negotiations in Detroit, his trade availability feels less like a fingers-crossed wish and more like an inevitability.