The Los Angeles Dodgers may face some stiff competition in their quest to retain Tarik Skubal this offseason. One writer has them pivoting to another pricey free agent. Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly predicted that the New York Mets will make Skubal the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history with a nine-year, $387 million contract.
Even without the two-time Cy Young Award winner, the Dodgers can field a stacked starting rotation of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, and several other intriguing options. Yet they could still spend big on another southpaw. Kelly has the Dodgers signing Trevor Rogers to a five-year, $110 million deal with a player opt-out after the season.
Rogers may seem like an unconventional choice for a nine-figure deal after registering a 4.03 ERA this year. He hadn't exceeded 133 innings in six prior seasons before working 169.2 frames in 2026. However, Kelly proclaimed that the "best glimpses of Rogers make him look like a frontline starter." Rogers recorded a 2.67 ERA in his 2021 rookie campaign and a 1.81 ERA in 18 starts last year.
Rogers also ended 2026 strong with a 3.52 ERA in 13 starts after the All-Star break. Kelly likened this deal to the five-year, $118 million contract the Philadelphia Phillies gave Zack Wheeler seven years ago. The right-hander posted a 3.77 ERA over five seasons with the Mets before becoming one of MLB's premier aces for their NL East rivals.
Yamamoto is the only Dodgers pitcher to exceed 141 innings in the last four seasons, so they wouldn't necessarily add Rogers expecting him to make 30 starts. "If a team thinks it can get the most out of Rogers—and won't be turned off by the fact that he probably won't pitch 200 innings a season—it will be the Dodgers," Kelly theorized. "The deal projected might seem rich, but if Rogers puts it all together, it will be a bargain."
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