The Blue Jays task of returning to competitive baseball reportedly will take them to Orange County, Calif., next and a visit with the top free agent on the market, Tarik Skubal.
uncertain
task → return → market
The New York Post reported from the MLB general manager’s meetings in Las Vegas on Wednesday that the Jays are one of six teams in the hunt for the two-time Cy Young Award winning left-hander.
asserted
Jays → report → hander
The Post‘s Jon Heyman reported that the Jays will be in the chase for Skubal alongside some other big spending teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers (where Skubal finished the 2026 season), the New York Mets and San Diego Padres.
asserted
Skubal → report → season
That’s some serious heavy competition, of course, but the Jays have been at the top of the free agent market for several years now, so it is of no surprise that Skubal is in their sights.
asserted
Skubal → ’ → sights
From the pursuit of star free agents such as Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and more, the Jays are seen as big players every year now.
asserted
Jays → see → players
Making it to the World Series in 2026 only strengthened the team’s growing reputation around Major League Baseball.
asserted
Making → make → Baseball
And what a prize it would be if the Jays were able to visit super agent Scott Boras at his Newport Beach base and come away with the top available pitching free agent for a second consecutive winter.
asserted
Jays → visit → winter
Why are Jays pursuing Skubal?
asserted
Jays → pursue → Skubal
Toronto general manager Ross Atkins is on record as saying adding to his rotation is an off-season priority as the Jays look to return to prominence after a first-to-last tumble.
asserted
Jays → say → tumble
With veterans Kevin Gausman (traded at the summer deadline) as well as Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber (free agents) no longer part of the roster, there is need for another high-end arm.
asserted
veterans → trade → arm
Should the Jays land the soon-to-be-30-year-old, he would join a rotation headlined by this year’s AL Cy Young finalist Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Jose Soriano and the expected return of Cody Ponce, who was injured in his first start as a Jay last April.
asserted
who → land → Jay
Adding a lefty, who was dominant in his peak years with the Tigers, would almost instantly guarantee the Jays starting staff as elite.
asserted
who → add → Tigers
In his 2026 season, split between the Tigers and Dodgers, the southpaw put up a 2.72 ERA over 26 starts with 186 strikeouts.
asserted
southpaw → split → strikeouts
What would it take to land Skubal?
asserted
it → take → Skubal
It is widely expected to take a record amount to land Skubal, both in term and dollars.
asserted
It → expect → term
So are the Jays willing to pay what could easily top $50 million US per season?
uncertain
what → pay → season
The deal to acquire Cease last winter was a club record for the team on a free agent at $210 million over seven years.
asserted
deal → acquire → years
The previous year, they shelled out $500 million on the Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s extension.
asserted
they → shell → extension
Though it will take more to get Skubal than Cease, the Jays do have some payroll room with the exit to free agency of Bieber and George Springer.
asserted
Jays → take → Bieber
The team and parent company Rogers clearly aren’t afraid of spending.
asserted
team → spend → spending
As well, Jays president Mark Shapiro has indicated that it will be business as usual for the team, even with the prospect of a lockout on Dec. 2.
asserted
it → indicate → Dec.
With that in mind, Skubal, like most free agents, has made it clear that he’d like to have a contract signed before the current CBA expires.
asserted
CBA → make → agents
Do Jays have ties to Skubal?
asserted
Jays → have → Skubal
Much was made of Skubal recently working out alongside Jays pitcher Bowden Francis at an Arizona gym recently, which is a common practice for players from different teams in the off-season.
asserted
which → make → season
That said, presumably the two shared details of their respective work environments, which can never hurt.
asserted
which → say → environments
It also is favourable that Skubal is represented by Boras, who also handles business for Cease and Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto.
asserted
who → represent → Cease
What once seemed a contentious relationship between the two sides is strong now with Boras included in press conferences to announce the signings of both Cease and Okamoto.
asserted
Boras → seem → Cease
The Aporia
