Top free-agent pitcher Tarik Skubal is set to meet with six teams, including the Mets, Dodgers and Padres, as Major League Baseball heads toward a likely lockout in December.
The collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1, and MLB has proposed a hard cap of $258.2 million for 2028, a plan that players have vowed never to accept.
I look at this as a business-as-usual offseason until they tell us otherwise.
Team executives say they're treating it as a normal offseason, even though trades and signings will freeze once a stoppage begins.
Skubal Set to Meet Six Teams Before a Possible Lockout
Top free-agent pitcher Tarik Skubal is lining up meetings with six teams, including the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, as baseball heads toward a likely lockout in December.
A person familiar with the talks told the Associated Press about the plans, speaking anonymously because nothing has been announced. That person did not name the other teams who will sit down with him.
The sport's collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. EST on December 1, and management is expected to start the sport's 10th work stoppage since 1972 right away, which sets a firm clock on the offseason.
Team executives say they plan to treat it as a normal winter. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said he sees it as business as usual until told otherwise, so his club is preparing for a full offseason.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the same, noting that Hal Steinbrenner gave him a budget and that he is now connecting with teams and agents to find out what is realistic and what isn't early in the winter.
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The Salary Cap Fight Behind the Lockout
The main dispute is money. Major League Baseball has proposed a hard cap of $258.2 million for 2028, along with a floor of $180.2 million, both based on luxury tax payrolls using average annual values.
Under the proposal, a team could sit as low as 90% of the floor in 2028, or $162.18 million, but it would have to spend the full floor amount over a three-year period.
MLB says eight clubs would have to cut current payroll by a combined $528 million to get under the proposed 2028 cap: Boston, the Chicago Cubs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees, the Mets, Philadelphia, San Diego and Toronto.
Players have vowed never to accept a cap and say they will fight one as long as it takes. They did that during the 7 1/2-month strike of 1994 and 1995, which led to the first cancellation of the World Series in 90 years.
Agents worry that the expectation of a cap could cool the free-agent market. Trades and signings freeze during a stoppage, as they did in the 99-day lockout of 2021-22.
Skubal and a Thin Free-Agent Class
Skubal went 12-7 with a 2.72 ERA in 26 starts this year for Detroit and the Dodgers. Los Angeles acquired him on August 2 for three prospects to join a rotation with Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
He could top the largest contract ever given to a pitcher, Yamamoto's $325 million, 12-year deal with the Dodgers that began in 2024. That possibility is part of what makes his meetings so closely watched.
Skubal leads a relatively weak free-agent class that also includes Freddy Peralta, Michael King, Seiya Suzuki and Randy Arozarena, so competition for the top names may be intense.
Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said the front office is trying to balance roster decisions and avoid moves that could disrupt what it hopes will be a very long window to contend.
The Dodgers are among the teams that would need to trim payroll under MLB's cap proposal, which adds a wrinkle to any decision about re-signing him or letting him go.
How Teams Are Preparing
Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said his team has handled the winter as it always does, evaluating players, talking to agents and putting itself in position to make decisions.
He acknowledged that a new economic system is a factor to consider, but said it is hard to predict what the exact system will be. If the Padres see something that makes sense short and long term, he said, they will be ready to act.
The urgency is real. On the day before the 2021 lockout began, there were 27 announced contracts worth more than $1.4 billion, a reminder of how much business can get done before a freeze.
That history may push teams and agents to move quickly in the next few weeks, since no trades or signings can happen once the lockout starts.
At the same time, uncertainty over a possible cap could make some clubs cautious about long commitments, especially if they expect to face limits in 2028.
The Angels Face Their Own Uncertainty
The Los Angeles Angels may be more hesitant than most to make big moves. On September 1, they announced an agreement for Arte Moreno to sell the franchise to Kroenke Sports and Entertainment.
Kroenke controls the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, Premier League champion Arsenal, the NBA's Denver Nuggets, the NHL's Colorado Avalanche and Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids. The sale needs MLB approval, and no closing date has been set.
Interim general manager John Mozeliak said the aim is to position the new leadership so it can be nimble in whatever direction it chooses.
Over the next few days, he said, his job is to understand what other teams have, who they are interested in and what they might do in trade talks, while figuring out who the club might target in free agency once new leadership is in place.
With the lockout clock ticking and the sale unresolved, the Angels are a good example of how the stoppage and the cap debate are shaping the winter across the league.
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Emily Parker
Sports Reporter
Emily Parker is an expert sports journalist, covering major leagues like the NFL, NBA, and the Olympics. She focuses on athlete stories, sports culture, and global sports events, bringing a unique perspective to the world of sports reporting.
