Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is playing a dangerous game by refusing to commit to re-signing Tarik Skubal. The two-time Cy Young Award winner just arrived via a blockbuster trade from Detroit in August, and now the front office offers only polite platitudes.
Friedman started by praising the left-hander, noting that “It’s not easy for a guy to get traded in the middle of a season to come to a new city, new clubhouse,” per the New York Post. This sounds nice, but it is a classic dodge designed to keep other teams guessing about the Dodgers’ actual spending power.
The real story here is that the Dodgers are acting coy while facing massive financial pressure from their own owner. Friedman admitted that owner Mark Walter was “obviously really disappointed” after the team’s sweep by the Milwaukee Brewers, yet Walter is already asking “What can we do? What are our plans? What are our thoughts for the offseason?” according to the New York Post.
This creates a weird tension where the owner wants to win immediately, but the baseball operations team is refusing to say they will spend the record-breaking money needed to lock up Skubal. The soon-to-be 30-year-old pitcher is expected to break Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s record guarantee of $325 million, and the Dodgers are acting like they might not want to pay that price.
The Owner’s Push For 2027
Mark Walter is not letting the loss slow him down, even with his own business empire under federal investigation. Reports stated that after the elimination, the billionaire Walter was already looking ahead and inquiring about how to “put ourselves in the best position to win in ‘27.”
This is a clear signal that the money should be there, yet Friedman remains silent on the specific plans for Skubal. He admitted only that discussions with Skubal’s agent, Scott Boras, will occur with the club as winter approaches. That is the extent of the commitment so far.
A Pattern Of Non-Committal Praise
Friedman complimented the way Skubal acclimated to his new surroundings, saying “The way he was able to seamlessly transition, not just in terms of on the field, but in the clubhouse, I can’t say enough good things about the impact that he made in such a short period of time,” per the New York Post.
He even noted that “He and his family have to make a choice over where they want to spend the next X number of years, and obviously we wish him nothing but the best.” This is the exact language teams use when they are not sure they can afford the player or do not want to start a bidding war. It is a polite way of saying they might let him walk.
Even though the Dodgers missed a World Series three-peat this year, Skubal still made an impact, and Friedman noted the team holds a “tremendous amount of respect for him on and off the field.” But respect does not buy a contract. Although the Dodgers have proven they cannot be ruled out for any top free-agent target, they publicly minimized their aggression leading up to this year’s deadline.
By remaining evasive on Wednesday, Friedman created a vacuum of speculation regarding the Dodgers’ precise stance in the Skubal sweepstakes. The clock is ticking on a deal that could redefine the franchise, but the front office seems content to wait and see.
