ORLANDO, Fla. — Perhaps one way for the Mets to save this ugly winter would be to acquire Tigers superstar starter Tarik Skubal in trade. At least it might be a nice way to change the narrative after losing the popular and productive Edwin Díaz and Pete Alonso in back-to-back days here.
With the Tigers listening on Skubal and their having no chance to lock him up long term with the sides starting a quarter-billion dollars apart last winter, one Mets executive (and others) are speculating he will be dealt.
Of course, the Mets want Skubal (who wouldn’t?) and are debating now whether to go all in with big-time young players for Skubal, or wait until winter and try to do a free-agent deal for what will likely be record bucks. The Mets are well-equipped to trade with an outstanding stash of big league ready prospects, but Mets baseball president David Stearns is among the majority of execs who loves prospects and may be loathe to gut his system for a pitcher who could leave after 2026.
According to one high-ranking Mets person, Nolan McLean, who starred in a 2025 Queens cameo, is “off limits.” But the Mets could still tempt the Tigers with some combination of pitchers Jonah Tong (“everyone wants him”) and Brandon Sproat, plus outfielder Carson Benge and infielder-outfielder Jett Williams, and more from their top-ranked system.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
