The Chicago Cubs are not ruling out a free-agent pursuit of Tarik Skubal this offseason, even after the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired the two-time Cy Young Award winner at the trade deadline.
Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, speaking on the North Side Territory podcast with Sahadev Sharma, emphasized that the club remains open to the left-hander. The comments come as president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has made pitching acquisition the clear priority following a Wild Card Series sweep by the San Diego Padres.
“We’re starting with Skubal because the Cubs are not going to rule out Skubal at this point, which should be obvious, which should be standard operating procedure,” Mooney said.
Skubal finished the 2026 regular season with a 12-7 record, 2.72 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 186 strikeouts against 27 walks in 158 2/3 innings across 26 starts split between Detroit and Los Angeles. He posted a strikeout rate of 30.0 percent and a walk rate of 4.4 percent. He has recorded an ERA of 2.80 or better in each of the past four seasons.
The 29-year-old, who will turn 30 in November, won the American League Cy Young Award in 2024 and 2025 with the Tigers before the Dodgers acquired him on Aug. 1 for outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith. He earned $32 million in 2026 after winning a record arbitration case.
Chicago showed interest in Skubal at the deadline but never approached a deal. The Cubs instead added Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, Braxton Garrett and Ryan Zeferjahn. Multiple members of the late-season rotation — including Shota Imanaga, Gausman, Matthew Boyd (mutual option) and Holmes (player option) — are expected to hit free agency.
Hoyer has been direct about the team’s needs.
“It’s safe to say that the biggest part of our focus going into the offseason is going to be on pitching,” he said after the season ended. “The overall quality of the pitching has to improve.”
The Cubs allowed a National League-high 231 home runs in 2026.
Skubal would address the lack of a true frontline starter with swing-and-miss ability. He has already started twice in the postseason for the Dodgers, posting a 2.45 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 11 innings.
“From Skubal’s perspective, there are only a few teams at any given point that are going to be in play for the top pitcher on the free agent market … When the entire focus is pitching, you have to look at the best pitcher out there,” Mooney said.
“And when you have already tried to acquire him at the trade deadline and you’ve done a ton of homework on him already, you have a pretty good idea of some of maybe some of his geographic preferences … it makes no sense to rule it out early.”
Mooney noted Skubal’s Arizona roots, which place him near the Cubs’ spring training facility in Mesa. That connection is secondary to money, but it is one of several factors teams will weigh.
Industry projections for Skubal’s contract average roughly eight years and $355 million, according to a survey of MLB insiders by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. Some estimates reach $400 million or higher. The Dodgers and New York Mets are widely viewed as the strongest potential bidders, with the Tigers and Yankees also linked.
The Cubs have been cautious about elite free-agent pitching contracts in recent years, though they signed Alex Bregman last winter and showed aggression at the 2026 deadline by moving prospects. Whether that willingness extends to a record-setting deal for a pitcher remains unclear.
Nothing is finalized. Free agency does not begin until after the World Series, and Skubal’s representatives at the Boras Corporation will field offers from multiple clubs.
Still, the fact that longtime Cubs reporters believe Chicago is not closing the door early keeps the possibility alive as the offseason approaches.
