3 free agent starters Dodgers could pivot to if Tarik Skubal spurns LA

There are some who believe that Tarik Skubal loved his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers enough that the two-time Cy Young winner is likely to re-sign with the club. That could very well be the case, but it's far from a guarantee.

At the end of the day, numbers matter, and for Skubal, they're going to get crazy. We're looking at records, and potentially a decade-long commitment for a hurler who is just a couple of weeks shy of his 30th birthday. Is it 10 years for $350 million? $400 million? Do we see a half-a-billion contract in the ace's future?

That's where the sticking point might be. Recently, Andrew Friedman has shied away from those uber contracts, preferring instead to go with insanely high AAVs over shorter terms. With the potential of a salary cap coming down the pike, he might prefer the flexibility of a shorter deal. Skubal, on the other hand, would probably prefer to sign this deal and be set for life.

Then there's the Mark Walter of it all. While the Dodgers will have us believe that there will be no changes made in how this franchise is run, his need to shed assets amid the federal investigation into his insurance businesses makes one wonder how much longer he can keep this level of spending up.

As a result, Skubal might end up employed elsewhere, forcing Los Angeles to look at other alternatives. The good news is they don't need an ace on Skubal's level, though the higher-end the hurler, the better.

The Dodgers could turn to these three free-agent starters if Tarik Skubal walks in free agency

Freddy Peralta, Rays pitcher

Last offseason, when Skubal was rumored to be on the trade block, Freddy Peralta was often regarded as the next-best option. His showing with the Mets seemed to kill his chances at a big-money deal, but his resurgence with the Rays revived his standing to the point that MLB insider Jim Bowden considers him the top free agent after Skubal.

Peralta lost some of his magic with a clunker in Game 3 of the World Series, but he still has a career body of work that has him as a top-of-the-rotation starter. He has some issues with efficiency and isn't quite the dominant force that Skubal is, but very few are actually on that level. With a true ace in Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the fold, Peralta is a fine fit.

Sonny Gray, Red Sox pitcher

The knock on Sonny Gray throughout the years was that he couldn't handle pitching in big markets with rabid media members and a fanbase with high expectations. Those concerns derive from the shell-shocked manner in which he handled failure with the Yankees nearly a decade ago.

However, with a 2.72 ERA over 29 starts and 169 innings with the Red Sox, he's now in line for a top-five finish in the AL Cy Young race. While New York is one thing, Boston is no picnic to play in.

The 37-year-old right-hander is at the point where he's only looking at a short-term contract, which the Dodgers may prefer. He's also only going to consider destinations where he can win a ring. Playing for the Dodgers comes with high expectations, but LA is much more laid-back than the Bronx Zoo.

Kaima Taira, NBP pitcher

Pitchers typically don't have five-foot-eight, 225-pound builds, but they also don't typically have the kind of fastball that Kaima Taira possesses. The NPB superstar can touch 100 miles on the gun, with great shape on his four-seamer, and that's just the start of what he has in his toolbox.

With a 1.36 ERA over 146 innings, Taira raised a lot of eyebrows this year. He's an uncommon pitcher for more than just his build and his arsenal, though. For the majority of his NPB career, he's been a lights-out closer, recording 31 saves in 2025. Some may view that as a negative, but it could also be a positive.

Imagine a situation where he serves as the Dodgers No. 2 starter during the season, and then, if Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and the rest of the gang are healthy, he transitions to the bullpen in the postseason, solving the Dodgers' annual playoff high-leverage relief issues once and for all.

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