The Mets and Dodgers go head-to-head, mano a mano, for big-buck free agents nearly every year it seems. And if the two clubs fight again this winter, and this one goes like the others, two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal — easily the belle of this year’s free agent ball — will stay in Los Angeles as a Dodger. The game is just getting started, but if LA plays, this won’t be easy for the orange and blue. 

The Mets are 0-for-4 when they go up against the Dodgers one-on-one in recent years. Kyle Tucker, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Trevor Bauer and even the Mets’ own Edwin Díaz all picked Chavez Ravine over Queens. Dodger dogs are about the only thing overrated about the Dodgers, so they’re a tough matchup for the team from Flushing still trying to find its footing (or for anyone else really). 

One bit of semi-positive news (from the Mets’ perspective): Three of the four high-salaried stars didn’t pay off in Los Angeles. Tucker and Díaz badly underperformed their first year out West and Bauer was released after receiving a domestic violence penalty, though Yamamoto is such a hit — and 2025 World Series hero — he’s almost making up for the others. 

One day into free agency, there’s already said to be a feeding frenzy for the two-time Cy Young winner Skubal, who’s expected to set a record contract for a pitcher and may sign quickly in a tough labor environment, with the lockout looming Dec. 1. For teams seeking a true ace, he’s the only game going, and the only one until after 2028, when Hunter Brown will be free. (Logan Gilbert and MacKenzie Gore look like the top free agent starters after 2027.)