The competition to sign Tarik Skubal continues to grow.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Blue Jays are expected to meet with Skubal next week in California, adding another financially aggressive club to a market that already includes the Dodgers, Mets and Padres.
Toronto’s involvement should not be dismissed as another team being loosely attached to the offseason’s best available player.
The Blue Jays have pursued some of baseball’s biggest free agents in recent years, including Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto, and starting pitching has emerged as one of their primary offseason needs. Toronto is now expected to make its case directly to Skubal and agent Scott Boras.
That does not mean the Blue Jays have made an offer or moved ahead of the Dodgers.
It does mean Los Angeles will have legitimate competition if it wants to keep the two-time Cy Young Award winner.
Dodgers Have Confirmed Contact With Skubal’s Camp
The Dodgers’ interest is no longer based solely on speculation.
Brandon Gomes confirmed at the General Managers Meetings that Los Angeles has remained in contact with Skubal’s representatives.
“We’ve been in touch with his camp, and our expectation is we’ll meet at some point,” Gomes said. mlb.com
Gomes did not confirm when that meeting will take place or whether the Dodgers have submitted an offer.
He did, however, make it clear that Los Angeles remains interested in a reunion.
The Dodgers already know considerably more about Skubal than the other teams preparing presentations. They acquired him from Detroit at the trade deadline and spent the final two and a half months of the season working with him inside their rotation.
Skubal went 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA across 10 regular-season starts for Los Angeles. He then allowed three runs with 14 strikeouts over 11 postseason innings.
“I know that he enjoyed his time here, we loved having him,” Gomes said. “So I think that’s certainly helpful as far as these conversations go.”
That familiarity gives the Dodgers a meaningful advantage.
It does not give them a discount.
Toronto Has Shown It Will Pursue The Biggest Names
The Blue Jays have spent several offseasons attempting to add another franchise-level player.
Toronto made a serious run at Ohtani before he signed with the Dodgers and was connected to Soto before he joined the Mets. The Blue Jays later completed a major pitching addition by signing Dylan Cease.
They have not landed every player they pursued, but their willingness to enter those markets matters.
Toronto can offer Skubal a prominent role at the front of its rotation, the chance to return to the American League and a team clearly willing to spend for premium talent.
The Blue Jays also would not need to surrender draft compensation to sign him. Because Detroit traded Skubal during the 2026 season, he was ineligible to receive a qualifying offer.
The same advantage applies to every team involved, including the Dodgers. Skubal’s contract would be the only acquisition cost.
For Los Angeles, however, there is already a substantial prospect cost attached to this decision.
Dodgers Already Paid A Significant Price For Skubal
The Dodgers sent Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith to Detroit to acquire Skubal.
Hope and Ryan were both ranked among MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects at the time of the trade. Los Angeles accepted that price because Skubal improved its opportunity to win another championship.
Those prospects are gone regardless of what happens now.
That should not force the Dodgers into an irresponsible contract, but it creates a different calculation than the one facing Toronto, New York or San Diego.
If Skubal signs elsewhere, Los Angeles will have exchanged three prospects for 10 regular-season starts and two postseason appearances.
If he re-signs, the trade becomes the beginning of a longer relationship with one of baseball’s best pitchers.
That is why retaining him would carry value beyond avoiding the appearance of losing a rental. The Dodgers would preserve the impact of their deadline investment without surrendering another group of young players.
Skubal’s Market Could Establish New Pitching Records
Skubal finished the 2026 regular season 12-7 with a 2.72 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 186 strikeouts against only 27 walks over 158⅔ innings.
Since returning from flexor-tendon surgery during the 2023 season, he has gone 50-20 with a 2.47 ERA across 103 starts. mlb.com
His combination of performance, age and postseason experience has positioned him to challenge both major pitching-contract records.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto owns the largest total guarantee for a pitcher at $325 million. Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander share the record for average annual value at approximately $43.3 million.
ESPN’s industry survey produced an average projection of approximately eight years and $355 million. Another agent told Buster Olney that Skubal could pursue a shorter six-year contract worth $360 million—an enormous $60 million per season.
As we previously examined in our analysis of Skubal’s potential six-year, $360 million contract, those figures are market predictions.
They are not reported offers or confirmed demands from Boras.
Toronto’s entry does not guarantee Skubal will receive that amount. It gives Boras another credible bidder capable of helping the market reach it.
Mets May Remain Dodgers’ Largest Financial Threat
Toronto adds competition, but the Mets may still represent the clearest threat to Los Angeles.
New York is also expected to meet with Skubal next week and has both the financial capacity and rotation need to build an aggressive offer.
Mets owner Steve Cohen has already demonstrated his willingness to establish new contractual standards, most notably with Soto’s 15-year, $765 million agreement.
The Dodgers cannot assume they will win a straightforward bidding competition simply because Skubal enjoyed pitching in Los Angeles.
The Mets can offer money, market size and the opportunity to become the unquestioned face of their rotation.
The Dodgers can counter with familiarity, organizational stability, recent championship success and a rotation capable of sharing the workload around him.
The decision may ultimately come down to contract structure rather than total dollars alone.
Padres Interest Creates A Different Kind Of Pressure
San Diego’s involvement matters for another reason.
If Toronto or New York signs Skubal, the Dodgers lose an elite starter and must replace his innings.
If the Padres sign him, Los Angeles would also have to face him repeatedly inside the NL West.
As we discussed when examining how Padres interest raises the cost of losing Skubal, that possibility should add urgency without giving Boras a blank check.
San Diego expressing interest is not the same as being prepared to offer a record-setting contract. The Padres already carry several significant long-term commitments and would need to determine how another massive agreement fits their payroll.
Still, a division rival entering the process gives the Dodgers another outcome to consider.
Dodgers Must Decide What Skubal Is Worth To Them
Los Angeles possesses enough rotation talent to survive without Skubal.
Yamamoto, Ohtani, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan give the Dodgers several possible starting options.
That depth does not make Skubal replaceable.
Some of those pitchers carry significant health or workload concerns. Ohtani’s precise pitching workload remains undetermined, while Glasnow and Snell have experienced repeated availability issues. Sasaki and Sheehan still must demonstrate that they can handle full Major League seasons.
Skubal would give the Dodgers a proven frontline starter who can miss bats, limit walks and pitch deep into meaningful games.
The question is whether that certainty is worth a contract likely to exceed every previous pitching agreement.
His injury history also cannot be ignored. Skubal underwent Tommy John surgery in college, flexor-tendon surgery in 2022 and another elbow procedure during the 2026 season to remove a loose body.
He returned from the latest procedure and immediately pitched at an elite level. That performance should reassure interested teams, but it does not eliminate the risk of guaranteeing more than $350 million to a pitcher approaching 30.
Toronto’s Meeting Makes The Market More Real
Until teams begin meeting with Skubal, much of the discussion involves projections, possible fits and negotiating leverage.
Toronto’s expected meeting moves the process forward.
The Mets are preparing their presentation. The Dodgers have confirmed direct contact. The Padres remain involved. Other clubs—including the Giants and Phillies—have also been connected to the market.
No favorite has been established by Skubal or Boras, and no offer has been publicly reported.
The Dodgers still have one advantage the other contenders cannot recreate: Skubal has already experienced pitching in Los Angeles.
He knows the clubhouse, coaching staff, organization and expectations. The Dodgers know how he prepares, how he responds to October pressure and how he fits alongside the rest of their rotation.
That familiarity could become important when the offers begin arriving.
It will not matter if another team presents a financial package Los Angeles is unwilling to approach.
Toronto’s emergence does not mean the Dodgers are losing Skubal.
It means the competition for him is beginning—and Los Angeles must determine how far it is prepared to go before another team establishes the price.
How aggressive should the Dodgers become if Toronto or New York offers Skubal the largest pitching contract in MLB history?