Skubal Tops ESPN's Free-Agent Rankings With Projected $352M Deal as Lockout Looms

The MLB offseason has officially begun, and ESPN's annual ranking of the top 50 free agents puts Tarik Skubal firmly at the top. The left-hander, listed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2026, is projected for an eight-year, $352 million contract — a deal that would challenge pitcher records held by Yoshinobu Yamamoto's $325 million total and Max Scherzer's $43.3 million average annual value. Behind Skubal, Japan's Teruaki Sato is projected at five years and $115 million, with Freddy Peralta at four years and $96 million, but the overall market is weaker than usual: ESPN projects about $2.65 billion in guarantees, down roughly 12.5 percent from last winter. Hanging over everything is the December 1 expiry of the current collective bargaining agreement, with a lockout widely expected if no new deal is reached — a deadline that has already pushed teams to move quickly on options and qualifying offers, including the eight $23.15 million qualifying offers handed out before the November 2 deadline. For Skubal, the question is not whether he gets paid, but whether he signs before the sport shuts down for the winter.