MLB offseason buzz: Intel on Skubal, free agency, trade rumors - ESPN

The MLB hot stove season has arrived!

With players becoming free to sign with any team they choose today (free agency officially begins Monday at 5 p.m. ET), we asked our MLB reporters to open their notebooks with all of the intel they collected from execs, agents and other baseball insiders during the 2026 MLB postseason.

What is the early word on top free agent Tarik Skubal? Would the Tampa Bay Rays trade ace Drew Rasmussen on the heels of their World Series run? What will the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs do after their playoff exits? And which other teams are generating the most buzz across the industry?

Here is what we're hearing as the hot stove ignites.

Jeff Passan: Skubal is far and away the best player in this class, and the expectation is he will sign before the Dec. 1 lockout. The two most obvious suitors are the two teams with the highest payrolls in baseball: The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. There are bound to be others. The Chicago Cubs badly want Skubal. They also are skeptical that they will be willing to compete at the sort of dollars Skubal is expected to get — well in excess of $300 million, potentially in the $400 million-plus range. With Michael King and Nick Pivetta being free agents, the San Diego Padres need a rotation anchor, and arguably the best pitcher in baseball would more than suffice.

Others will join the foray, at the very least showing interest and perhaps joining the bidding. Either way, coming off another excellent season, Skubal will set a new record for a starting pitcher contract. The only question is how big it will be.

Alden Gonzalez: All things being equal — and by «all things» I, of course, mean «money» — my sense is Skubal would love to return