David Lennon: Time is running down as agent Scott Boras dangles Tarik Skubal to Mets and many others
Scott Boras speaks at a news conference during Major League Baseball's general manager meetings on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, in Las Vegas. Credit: AP/John Locher
LAS VEGAS — Scott Boras was short on his usual puns but long on the value of Tarik Skubal during Wednesday’s chat with reporters at the GM Meetings.
Beyond the “Sku-bull market” for his coveted client and teams “filling their tanks for the “Skubal-dive,” Boras mercifully kept the groan-worthy material to a relative minimum while addressing the swirling interest around the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner.
Stacking suitors was never going to be a problem for Boras, whose stable of free agents often includes the No. 1 prize on the market and usually a good chunk of the top 10. The challenge this year, however, is maximizing what he can get for Skubal, in a baseball climate chilled by proposed salary-cap economics and the sport heading for shutdown on Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m.
That’s now less than three weeks away, and as far as what’s been reported so far, the market for Skubal currently stands at a half-dozen teams: the Mets, Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays and, of course, two mystery clubs — the favorite cards Boras loves to play.
A half-dozen suitors, including some of MLB’s biggest spenders, should be plenty for Boras to work his magic, even during this tight negotiating window. During the previous lockout, back in 2021, Boras scored mega-deals for Corey Seager (10 yrs/$325 million) and Marcus Semien (7 yrs/$175M) and also persuaded the Mets to give Max Scherzer’s three-year, $130 million contract, which set the AAV record ($43.3M) for starting pitchers that Skubal is now trying to break.
Once again, the Mets are at the forefront, this time providing Boras’ best leverage for the entire negotiations. They’re desperate for a shutdown ace to slot ahead of Nolan McLean and also have an owner in Steve Cohen who doesn’t blink when it’s time to outbid the competition. Two years ago, Boras played the Yankees against the Mets and got Cohen to give Juan Soto a record 15-year, $765 million contract.
Similar forces are at play this month with the Mets battling the Dodgers, who have become a more bitter nemesis in the free-agent arena than between the foul lines. The Mets are 0-3 in the last three notable head-to-head showdowns, with Kyle Tucker, Edwin Diaz and Yoshinobu Yamamoto all choosing L.A. over Flushing. None of those were Boras clients, however, and the urgency for Cohen to land Skubal currently feels off the charts. Boras is acutely aware of these dynamics, and given the existing business relationship between him and Cohen, the Mets are driving the Sku-bus, so to speak. Does Boras believe they’re more motivated coming off two non-playoff seasons?
“That’d be a question for them,” Boras said. “But I think there are a lot of unfulfilled expectations in this league.”
As for Skubal being that game-changer, he’s pretty much the obvious answer for the Mets. Their strategy of giving record short-term contract to two Hall of Famers approaching the sunset of their careers in Scherzer and Justin Verlander didn’t pay off, but Skubal, who turns 30 next week, should be in line for another Cy Young or two while pitching the Mets back into playoff contention.
“The rarity of the [Greg] Madduxes, and the [Randy] Johnsons, the [Kevin] Browns, the [Gerrit] Coles, when you go back and look at the Scherzers, all these true No. 1s, they’ve all led to world championships,” Boras said. “And that’s kind of what teams are about. If we look over a 30 or 40-year period, we might have less than ten of these aces that are capable of winning multiple Cy Youngs.”
Boras test-driving his sales pitches to reporters at these meetings has become standard operating procedure for the game’s most successful agent. But Wednesday’s session, which stretched for roughly an hour, involved more labor-related discussion, mostly with Boras railing against the salary-cap proposals.
During one of those riffs, Boras’s cell phone began ringing. But instead of just silencing it in his pocket, he pulled out the phone, then examined the screen.
“Just another owner begging to meet with Skubal,” Boras said, drawing laughter.
That’s how Boras envisions this market anyway — teams eager to throw piles of cash at his client. We’ll know soon enough how close he is to reality. The Mets are among a handful of teams scheduled to sit down with Skubal next week in California, and if the offers don’t come then, it can’t be much longer afterward. While president of baseball operations David Stearns has declined to speak publicly about his interest in Skubal — or even acknowledge a scheduled meeting — he can’t deny where the bulk of the Mets’ dollars will be devoted this offseason.
“I’ve been very open that we’re looking to add to our starting-pitcher grouping at all levels,” Stearns said. “And that means exploring free agency and the trade market.”
Not exactly grabbing the Sku-bull by the horns, but that’s to be expected from Stearns. Plus, when Boras is aiming for record nine-figure deals, Cohen tends to run point on those negotiations, since he’s the one picking up the tab, and this should wind up in the $360 million range.
Incredibly, the Mets have finished out of the playoffs in the two seasons since going down this same road with Soto — something no one would have predicted at the time. It’s inconceivable the drought would continue with Skubal on board, but getting the lefty ace is going to take some heavy lifting over these next two-plus weeks, as Boras fully expects a deal to be done before the lockout takes effect.
“Teams don’t want to lose to their competitors,” Boras said. “They’re pursuing it aggressively.”
And the Skubal clock is ticking louder by the day.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
