LAS VEGAS – The Los Angeles Dodgers shrug their shoulders hearing that the New York Mets have a meeting scheduled next week in California with prized free-agent starter Tarik Skubal.
They are amused that the San Diego Padres are flirting with the idea of adding Skubal to give them three players earning in excess of $300 million.
They smirk when mystery teams are floated in the air for Skubal at the GM meetings.
They also know the bottom line: If the Dodgers want Skubal, they can have him, providing no one absolutely blows them out of the water with an offer they don’t want to match.
And, let’s face it, nobody has done that in nearly a decade.
The Dodgers wanted Shohei Ohtani three years ago, they got him at the same 10-year, $700 million price offered
to the Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants.
The Dodgers wanted Yoshiobu Yamamoto, they got him at $325 million, even though the Mets and Philadelphia Phillies were willing to go higher.
They got closer Edwin Diaz with a three-year, $69 million contract last winter, not even giving the Mets a chance to counter.
They signed first baseman Freddie Freeman away from Atlanta in 2022 with a six-year, $162 million contract.
They made sure Mookie Betts wasn’t returning to Boston in 2020 with a 12-year, $365 million extension.
Whatever the Dodgers want, they always get.
Now, despite the federal investigation into owner Mark Walter’s insurance empire, there is zero indication the Dodgers don’t want him back.
Oh sure, they’d love to dump a salary or two to make it more feasible.
They’ve got outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and his remaining $21 million salary on the trade block. If someone asks, Tyler Glasnow can be theirs, too, freeing up the $30 million he’s owed in 2027 with a $21.5 million player option in 2028. Just like that, $72.5 million could be coming off the books, plenty to squeeze in the two-time Cy Young winner who’ll command at least $350 million in the free-agent market.
So, when Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes was asked Tuesday if they had a meeting set up with Skubal, too, he said, “at some point soon.’’
“We know we love the player, we love the human,’’ Gomes said. “And you kind of have to let things play out to understand what that looks like, and if it’s something that we’re going to ultimately execute.”
Why wouldn’t they?
Skubal fit in perfectly after joining the Dodgers in August after being acquired from the Detroit Tigers. He was their co-ace with Yamamoto. He went 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA, and was exactly the pitcher they envisioned, and more.
“He was awesome to get to know,’’ Gomes said. “He fit in great into the clubhouse. Obviously, we know what kind of pitcher he is.
“So, for us, it’s understanding what this all looks like, as far as what does our team need? What does the contract look like? Where does he end up? I don’t know.’’
Well, considering Skubal is a native of Kingman, Arizona, a 318-mile drive to Dodger Stadium, with his parents and entire family living in Arizona, his wife’s family living in Arizona, and the Dodgers’ spring training complex a 25-minute drive from their Scottsdale, Arizona, home, there’s no reason in the world he won’t end up back in Los Angeles.
Money hasn’t stopped the Dodgers from getting everything they’ve desired since their championship run in 2020.
Why let a little investigation into finances stop them now?
“It is always easy to say, at this point in time, what is best for the team,” Gomes said. “But then as you look at the construction of your roster, it’s about making sure you’re balancing and not setting yourself up to potentially hit a slow point, or making sure you’re not doing things that disrupt what could potentially be.
“We want a very long window, and making sure that stays open.”
The Dodgers, with or without Skubal, still have a rotation featuring Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani, Glasnow and depth in Roki Sasaki, Justin Wrobleski, Emmet Sheehan and Gavin Stone.
“We do,’’ Gomes said, “have a good amount of depth in our pitching.’’
Why not make it unstoppable, making sure that the Dodgers’ early postseason departure, being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS, never happens again in the near future? It made no difference to them that they were eliminated by the eventual World Series champions. The pain was so unbearable that Gomes couldn’t even watch the entire World Series with the Brewers beating the Tampa Bay Rays in five games.
“No, it doesn’t take any sting away,’’ Gomes said. “You just don’t feel good if you don’t win. So, you’re in this stage of like, 'Man, that kind of stinks.'
“I tried to watch the first couple of games, and then after that, I was like, 'This is painful. It’s too painful. I think I’ll just check the box score for it.'"
The Dodgers haven’t endured the pain of losing a free agent they coveted since making a last-ditch bid for Bryce Harper in 2019. They offered a four-year, $180 million contract before being out-bid by the Phillies with a 13-year, $330 million deal.
There’s no reason to believe it will happen again.
The Dodgers want the man.
Skubal wants to return to the Dodgers.
When the flirting ends, and the bids stop, Skubal should be in a Dodgers uniform.
Right where he belongs.
Follow Bob Nightengale on X @Bnightengale.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers want Tarik Skubal. Skubal wants the Dodgers. So why won't it happen?
