Blue Jays interested again in biggest free agent available with Tarik Skubal talks on the schedule

Jon Heyman reported that the the Toronto Blue Jays have a meeting scheduled with top free agent starter, Tarik Skubal. The Blue Jays are one of six teams to have expressed interest in the starter. The Dodgers, Mets, and Padres are the other known teams to are pursuing the lefty. There are two mystery teams that have not yet been revealed.

While it is always exciting for the Blue Jays to be in on top tier free agents and get meetings with them, it doesn't mean anything will come to fruition. If there is one thing that fans should remember from previous pursuits, it was how those chases ended.

Blue Jays pursuing the biggest name on the market again

In the Shohei Ohtani pursuit, the Blue Jays' interest in the two-way phenom was legitimate. From having a meeting at the PDC in Dunedin, to keeping a tight lip regarding their interest, all the way to flight tracking. Their pursuit came down to the wire until they lost out to their eventual World Series opponent, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

One year later, the Blue Jays found themselves attached to another elite free agent hitter, Juan Soto. While they were in the running until the later stages, their interest in the outfielder was not as high as Ohtani the year before. It was more of a two-team race between the two New York teams, the Mets and Yankees.

Last offseason, they were once again a top suitor for another top hitter, this time, Kyle Tucker. Unlike Soto, the Blue Jays were serious for Kyle Tucker. The Blue Jays were able to get a meeting with Tucker at their PDC. In the end, much like the World Series, the Blue Jays lost to the Dodgers.

Without a doubt, Skubal is the top free agent on the board. Adding Skubal would turn a deep rotation into one of the best rotation's in the entire league. Skubal would headline a group featuring the AL Cy Young award runner-up Dylan Cease, along with young arms Trey Yesavage, José Soriano, and Cody Ponce.

The Blue Jays and Skubal's agent, Scott Boras are no strangers to one another. In recent years, the Blue Jays have been able to complete deals with several of his clients: Dylan Cease, Kazuma Okamoto, and Max Scherzer.

The Blue Jays are not afraid to flex their financial muscle. They gave franchise first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. $500 million before their World Series run, and Dylan Cease $210 million last offseason. Owned by Rogers Corporation, they have all the financial resources at their disposal to be in the running for elite free agents.

With a pending lockout and uncertainty over a potential salary cap and floor, Skubal will aim to maximize his earnings and sign before the CBA expires on December 1. It would not be a surprise if Skubal's contract exceeded either the record AAV for a pitchers at $43.3 million set by Scherzer or the maximum guarantee given out to a pitcher at $325 million which was set by Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

An argument can be made that Skubal is a better pitcher than Scherzer was when he signed his contract, and that he is better than his former rotation mate, Yamamoto. With those factors in mind, Skubal could be looking at something along the lines of 8-years, $350 million ($43.75M AAV).

That is a lofty price tag for a pitcher who will be 38 by the end of the contract but teams are not paying for the value at the end of the contract, but rather the near term. Skubal does have an injury history as well, pertaining to his elbow. To give out that much money to a player who impacts your team every five to six days may not be worth it.

The Blue Jays have other key areas to address and adding a starting pitcher is not the number one priority, so this pursuit should be chalked up as due diligence.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow