Skubal Headlines MLB Free Agency Amid Lockout Fears — SkimNews
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- Tarik Skubal is expected to shatter the record pitching contract (Yoshinobu Yamamoto's $325M), potentially doubling Stephen Strasburg's $245M free-agent record for pitchers 30+, after a 2.93 ERA season following NanoScope surgery
- A lockout is expected less than a month after the market opens as owners push for a salary cap system; the CBA expires Dec. 1 and only a 'handful' of teams can afford $50M per year for a 33-start pitcher
- Teruaki Sato, a 27-year-old Hanshin Tigers third baseman, is slashing .320/.398/.636 with 35 HRs and 92 RBIs, leading the NPB Central League in all three slash categories and Triple Crown stats
- Kaima Taira, the 5-foot-8, 220-pound Seibu Lions right-hander, posted a 1.45 ERA over 124 innings with a 100 mph peak fastball and eight pitches, though scouts remain split on whether he's a starter or reliever
- The class beyond Skubal is unusually thin: only one 30-homer hitter (Brandon Lowe), best OBP belongs to Jake Bauers (.398 in the NL), and the fourth-hardest-throwing starter is Freddy Peralta at 94.3 mph
- Hiromi Itoh, a 29-year-old Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters starter, is also expected to be posted alongside Sato and Taira, leaning on a slider and splitter with a 92 mph four-seam fastball
Why it matters: With the CBA expiring Dec. 1 and a lockout looming, teams may withhold long-term commitments until a new system is in place — but Skubal's next contract, likely to eclipse Yoshinobu Yamamoto's $325M record, will become the central exhibit in the salary cap debate, while three Japanese stars (Sato, Taira, Itoh) offer a rare window for signings before any work stoppage.
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