Ready For The ‘Sku-Bull’ Market? 5 Takeaways From Day 2 At MLB GM Meetings

LAS VEGAS — The second day of MLB GM meetings at the Aria hotel gave us better insight into which teams are looking to be big movers and shakers in free agency. The day also gave us one of baseball’s best offseason traditions – super agent Scott Boras talking up his clients in the way only he knows how. Here’s what stood out: The Mets, Padres and Cubs are all looking to add multiple arms as they bulk up on starting pitching this offseason to help fill their desolate/empty/weak rotations. David Stearns, Mets president of baseball operations, said on Wednesday at the GM meetings that right-handers Nolan McClean and Christian Scott are the only two pitchers on the active roster who he could commit to being in next year’s rotation. “I don’t know that there’s a specific number,” Stearns explained. “I’d say multiple. We talked yesterday about creating a complete staff and that’s 1 through 10, or 12. And so I think we’re going to be looking at all segments of the market, free agent, trade at the top end of the market and at the types of acquisitions that maybe don’t make a lot of headlines in November, December, January, but come June, July, August prove pretty impactful.” Stearns added: “I would expect there are going to be a member, or members, of our rotation who aren’t members of the organization right now.” Beyond top free-agent starter Tarik Skubal, it’s a thin market for teams to pick from. The second-best starter on the market is veteran right-hander Freddy Peralta, who looked like a Cy Young-caliber ace in October for the Rays. His “Fastball Freddy” success and ensuing ALCS MVP honor came after an abbreviated stint with the Mets where we saw some of the worst performances of his career. It will be interesting to see if top contenders, like this trio of clubs who are desperate for starting pitching, will finally hand Peralta the nine-figure deal that seemed impossible to envision as recently as this past summer. “There’s not a specific number that you can say ‘Alright, we have that many starters, we’ll be good,'” Cubs GM Carter Hawkins said. “I’ve seen teams, us included last year, say alright we’ve got 13 starters coming into spring training. We’ll be fine. Sure as heck, it’s like, alright, we need more. You can never have too many is obviously the saying you’re always going to hear. We’re going to look to find great deals on guys, find great pitchers, also. If we do that over and over the course of this offseason and build up our depth, we’ll be in a really good place.” The Cubs lost all five starters who finished the 2026 season to free agency. That group includes Kevin Gausman, Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Clay Holmes and David Peterson. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is focused on beefing up the rotation and improving the overall quality of his pitching staff with savvy acquisitions this winter. It’s unclear if they’ll be big players at the top of the market for the best arms available. The Padres, who lost all but one starter to free agency, are looking to move fast and shore up some rotation arms before the potential lockout next month. “We’re going to need multiple pitchers,” GM A.J. Preller said. “So we understand that if we can line up I think we’ll be happy going into any, if there is a work stoppage type deal, we’ll be happy knowing we’ve got a fuller, complete roster than we have at this time.” – Deesha Thosar In the middle of his nearly hour-long address with reporters at the annual general managers meetings, agent Scott Boras’ phone rang. “Just another owner begging to meet with Skubal,” Boras quipped. Tarik Skubal, the clear top free agent on the market who could soon become the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history, continues to dominate the early offseason discussion. In addition to the Dodgers and Mets, the Padres and Blue Jays are reportedly among the teams expected to meet with the star left-hander and his representation. “In the deep water is a talent treasure,” Boras said. “There’s no time to come up for air. So, teams have filled their tanks, and they’re all clearly ready for the Skubal dive.” Boras did not say with certainty whether Skubal will sign before Dec. 1, when an anticipated lockout would freeze all transactions, but he intimated the likelihood of that happening. Before the last lockout in 2021, much of the activity — including the combined $500 million contracts with the Texas Rangers for Boras clients Corey Seager and Marcus Semien — occurred in the final hours and days before the sport temporarily shut down. This time, even more uncertainty looms beyond this month as MLB pushes for a salary cap that the players’ union vehemently rejects. On multiple occasions, Boras referenced how players feel “emboldened” by the success of the sport and its “record franchise revenues in every quadrant of the market.” On one hand, the unsettled financial structure of the next labor agreement could make teams hesitant to add more long-term deals right now. On the other hand, the likelihood of a lockout could increase teams’ urgency to get a deal with Skubal done quickly while they still can. “I think they’re very concerned about losing the opportunity to sign select key players, and they’re pursuing it aggressively,” Boras said, later adding that “when we get what we believe is fair, we’re going to move.” Thus far, however, none of the top free agents have come off the board. The inactivity to this point opened the door for one of many Boras-isms during the session. “I think the anticipated offseason was sort of a bearish (beginning),” Boras said. “But it’s very clear that there is a dominant and strong Sku-bull market. I think it’s pretty clear teams are not devoid of pursuing their championship fortunes, and they understand there’s only one Tarik card.”  — Rowan Kavner As teams insist it’s “business are usual” at this year’s GM meetings, the threat of a lockout and an extended freeze looms after Dec. 1. And while there have been a few one-year deals handed out — pitchers Emilio Pagán and Jacob Waguespack to the Tigers, pitcher Ryan Weiss to the Padres, pitcher Robert Stock to the Mets — we have yet to see any of the top free agents sign multi-year deals. That’s not a huge surprise, given how early it is in the offseason. The GM meetings are typically a time to start conversations and lay the groundwork for deals rather than actually wrap them up. Still, it’s possible that the unpredictability of the terms of the next labor agreement could make teams — particularly those who may need to trim payroll, depending on the financial parameters of the CBA — more hesitant to add multi-year deals to the books. “I think every person is going to answer that a little bit differently,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told me. “I can only speak to my experiences with the Red Sox, which is to say when there are opportunities to improve the team — I’ve gone to ownership and suggested that we pursue a player — I’ve had the support to do so.” “Every situation’s different,” Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins told me. “We just consider them from every potential angle, and then depending on the level of impact, in some cases we’ll have to present that to ownership with some explanation for the potential of outcomes around that.” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said all teams can do is function with what they know. And on his team, there simply aren’t many open spots available. They’ll look for a potential replacement for retiring utility infielder Miguel Rojas and plan to be “opportunistic” in the bullpen market. Of course, a Skubal return is also a possibility. “So much of it is, what do we think is going to help us balance everything?” Gomes told me. “Now, in the future, what does that look like? What are the possibilities? We have to be as prepared as possible. The good thing for us is we have a really good team right now without doing anything. We feel like that is a championship caliber team. Are we ever satisfied with that? No.” — Kavner The Padres are among the teams expected to meet with Skubal, perhaps a sign that new owners José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones might be willing to increase payroll again for a franchise that had cut costs since former owner Peter Seidler’s passing after the 2023 season. “I think for us, the last three years has been about making our money work for us and finding some players who were hungry and might be able to overperform the contracts we gave them,” said Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. “That part doesn’t change. You’re always looking for players you feel like are going to outperform what we’re paying them and guys that are going to go out and overachieve. But hopefully it opens up some other doors and avenues that we haven’t had the last three years. You don’t really know until you find out what the market says and what guys are looking for. That’s kind of what we’re doing right now.” Preller said the new ownership group is “committed to putting a winning team on the field,” though he isn’t sure yet exactly how many more dollars he’ll be able to spend. That might depend on the player Preller is trying to add. The Padres certainly aren’t the favorites to win a bidding war for Skubal, considering the sizable contracts already on their books, the other competitors in the sweepstakes, and the fact that they need to replace nearly their entire rotation. Michael King opted out of his deal, making him a free agent and one of the top arms available behind Skubal. The Padres declined their club option on Nick Pivetta, making him a free agent. Casey Mize, Robbie Ray and Walker Buehler are also free agents now, and a potential return in 2027 for Darvish is still unknown. “We don’t need just one guy,” Preller said. “We need a group of guys that we feel like can throw a bunch of innings for us.” Joe Musgrove and Randy Vásquez are the primary pitchers in the rotation. The Padres also added Ryan Weiss on a one-year deal for pitching depth. They remain open to bringing back King and Pivetta, despite declining his option. Preller said the Padres are talking to King’s representatives “every few days” to check in and that there is mutual interest. “He’s let it be known he enjoyed his time in San Diego,” Preller said. “We’ll see if we can line up.” It’s also possible that the Padres get involved in the bidding for the incoming crop of NPB talents. They would seemingly be fits for pitchers Kaima Taira or Hiromi Itoh as well as top Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato, particularly if he moves to first base or a corner outfield spot. All three have already been posted, starting the clock for them to reach an agreement with an MLB team. “We’re aware,” Preller said. “We’ve been preparing.” — Kavner The Phillies were the worst defensive team in baseball with -51 Defensive Runs Saved this year, and the Mariners were not too far behind with -23 DRS, which ranked 26th in MLB. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear their brass talk about how much these clubs will emphasize defense this offseason. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is tasked with the delicate high-wire act of improving his offense, which ranked 22nd in MLB with a .707 OPS amid a deeply disappointing and inconsistent season, all while plugging in players who can pick it. “We could easily find someone who could help us from the offensive perspective, but then we run into a problem if they wouldn’t give us the defense,” Dombrowski said. “And, as we’ve talked about for a while now, we’re emphasizing the defense.” How will Seattle go about it? “We have to get better defensively,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said. “Our defense last year, in what was a year of struggle across almost all elements of our team, our defense was maybe our single biggest disappointment. It’s an area where we just have to get better, whether that’s in free agency or trade.” In addition to external acquisitions, Dipoto is banking on his “young-ish, versatile team” to move players around the diamond as part of his plan to improve the defense. In particular, the Mariners are aiming to improve the left side of their defense, and they will mix and match players to fix the problem. At the request of catcher Cal Raleigh, who asked the team to bring someone in that could specifically help work with the catchers on defense, the Mariners hired Tanner Swanson as their bench coach. Swanson, 44, joins Seattle from the Yankees, where he spent the last seven seasons on their major-league coaching staff. “By and large, we just thought he’s the best catching instructor in the world,” Dipoto said of Swanson. “To be able to access that in addition to someone who has spent the last seven years dialed into what the Yankees do in terms of game strategy and preparation, and he’s sitting right next to Boony [Yankees manager Aaron Boone] and their bench coach year after year, and he’s the one bringing that gameplanning piece to the table. We thought that was a wonderful pairing with Jason Kanzler to provide our catchers with top-end instruction.” Multiple reports indicate Seattle is moving on from shortstop J.P. Crawford, who spent eight seasons with the Mariners before he entered free agency this offseason, and they see infielder Colt Emerson at either third base or shortstop. The M’s would prefer to add a better defender at third or short to complement Emerson on the left side of the field. — Thosar