MLB Free Agency Buzz: Brewers To Run It Back With Contreras; Dodgers, Cubs Eye Skubal
As we get over seeing the Brewers winning their first ever World Series, it’s time to turn our attention to the hot stove! With Nov. 2 officially kicking off free agency, expect big-name players such as two-time Cy Young ace Tarik Skubal and Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato to get top dollar this offseason. Here’s the latest from across the league: Monday, Nov. 2 Tarik Skubal, recent Dodgers’ ace and back-to-back AL Cy Young award winner, is the top free agent available this offseason. And the expectation is that he will sign before Dec. 1, and potentially for as much as $400 million or more, per ESPN. The Dodgers and Mets are both expected to be top suitors, given their ability and willingness to spend, but the Cubs and Padres – both desperately in need of starting pitching, and both capable of spending on a top-line free agent – are also considered significant suitors for Skubal’s services. Skubal’s 2026 was briefly interrupted by elbow surgery, but he returned and completed the season with a 2.72 ERA over 158 ⅔ innings and 26 starts, while striking out nearly seven times as many batters as he walked. Skubal will turn 30 during the offseason, and pitched brilliantly following his early-May surgery, including in two postseason starts with three runs allowed over 11 innings with 14 strikeouts against four walks. The Bazooka is back! Following a World Series MVP performance, brewers catcher William Contreras will return to the champions in 2027 after the team picked up his $15.5 million option. The 28-year-old catcher went 1-for-4 with an RBI double in the clincher and finished 8-for-21 (.381) with four RBIs. He did just as much behind the plate. Contreras guided a pitching staff that held Tampa Bay to 12 runs in five games, and he threw out four runners during the series.However, the Brewers declined the options for several players. Milwaukee declined a $14 million option on reliever Antonio Senzatela and the $8.5 million mutual option for backup catcher Gary Sánchez. Jake Bauers, who won the NLCS MVP in the four-game sweep over the Dodgers, was handed a one-year, $23 million qualifying offer. Friday, Oct. 30 Sonny Gray will receive a $10 million buyout as he is now a free agent. Gray led MLB with 18 wins and finished the year with a 2.72 ERA, the eighth-best mark among all qualified MLB pitchers and his lowest total since his All-Star 2015 season. As he enters his age-37 season, he remains a reliable arm, having thrown more than 160 innings and making at least 28 starts each of the last four seasons. Bo Bichette is keeping his contract with the Mets, exercising a player option for a $42 million salary in 2027, the team said Friday. Bichette agreed in January to a $126 million, three-year contract that included a $40 million signing bonus, a $2 million salary for 2026 and $42 million player options for both 2027 and 2028. Declining either option allows him to become a free agent again. A two-time All-Star shortstop in Toronto, Bichette shifted primarily to third base in New York, where Francisco Lindor plays shortstop. The 28-year-old Bichette hit .260 with 18 homers and 78 RBIs for the disappointing Mets, down from .311 with 18 homers and 94 RBIs when he helped the Blue Jays win the American League pennant in 2025. Outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.’s $17 million option was exercised Thursday by the Atlanta Braves, who also exercised a $7 million option on second baseman Ozzie Albies. Acuña, a five-time All-Star and the 2023 NL MVP, agreed in 2019 to a $100 million, eight-year contract that included the 2027 option, which had a $10 million buyout, and a $17 million option for 2028, which has no buyout. Albies agreed in 2019 to $35 million, seven-year contract that included $7 million options for 2026 and 2027. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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