This offseason feels surprisingly consequential league-wide despite the fact that the top of the free agent market isn’t as exciting as previous years.

With contentious CBA talks looming, we are going to see teams try to get their payrolls in a good spot and others try to take advantage of the potential sell-off. Unfortunately, that development may not work to the Atlanta Braves’ advantage.

It is very possible that Alex Anthopoulos is going to try and take advantage of this market inefficiency as he has a long track record of trying to do so.

When teams worried about their payrolls and/or rebuilding, Anthopoulos likes to scoop up players owed real money he likes (see: Chris Sale) and this market could suit that sensibility well. One name that would make sense for Atlanta is Tarik Skubal in such a scenario, but the Braves would be far from alone in that support.

As soon as it became apparent that Skubal might be available in trade talks, baseball fans everywhere started thinking about ways their teams could acquire him. However, the reality is that there are not that many teams that have both the financial space to take on Skubal’s 2026 arbitration salary that will be very hefty as well as the trade capital to entice the Tigers to move. Unfortunately, the Mets are one of those teams and Bleacher Report thinks that New York will actually pull it off.

The Mets trading for Tarik Skubal is a possibility that could haunt the Braves

The fundamental problem is that the Mets really need true starting pitching depth after getting punished for not having it in 2025. They are also desperate to make a meaningful playoff run and have basically endless resources with owner Steve Cohen around. New York also has prospects that will certainly appeal to Detroit as well. As a result, B/R’s prediction may very well be right.

If that were to happen, it would be a disaster for the Braves. It would be one thing if the Mets only got a year of the Cy Young favorite, but the Mets would be heavy favorites to lock-up Skubal for the long haul if they struck a trade even with Scott Boras around. For an Atlanta team that is already needing to rebound after a pair of tough seasons, having one of their biggest division rivals add Skubal is nightmare fuel.

Fortunately, this is the Mets were are talking about and if history is any indication, one shouldn’t underestimate the Mets’ ability to screw up.

In an odd way, Skubal being such an appealing option could expand his actual market enough that New York would have to really work to close a deal here. If it happens though, 2026 is going to be a lot tougher than the Braves would have hoped.