Dodgers Teammate Says Tarik Skubal Hasn't Mentioned His $355M Free Agency Once, Even With NLDS Game 1 Looming

Tarik Skubal is about to pitch Game 1 of the National League Division Series for a team chasing a third straight World Series title. He's also weeks away from one of the richest free agent contracts in baseball history. According to his own teammate, he hasn't said a word about it.

Dodgers infielder Max Muncy told reporters, including Dodgers Nation's Noel Sanchez, on Friday that Skubal has stayed locked in on the season instead of what comes after it. "I've never heard him mention one thing about free agency," Muncy said. "All he's talked about is pitching here or competing with us, making it through this playoff run."

The Dodgers acquired Skubal, a former Detroit Tiger, just before the trade deadline this season. Since joining Los Angeles he's made 10 starts, going 5-2 with a 2.36 ERA and 70 strikeouts, according to figures reported by the New York Post. The Dodgers named him their Game 1 starter against the Atlanta Braves, a game scheduled for Saturday, October 3, 2026.

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel polled baseball insiders on what Skubal could command on the open market this winter. The average projection: eight years, $355 million, a $44.6 million annual value, according to ESPN's reporting as relayed by both Yahoo Sports and Dodgers Nation. That would put him in rarefied air for a starting pitcher.

Muncy said that kind of silence from a player staring down a nine-figure payday is unusual. "We've had a lot of guys come over here, and they're free agents the next year, and they talk about it, and it's not a bad thing," Muncy said. "You're supposed to talk about it. It's an exciting time for a lot of these guys." For Skubal, Muncy said, it's been different. He described the pitcher's focus as rare and special to witness.

Muncy credited the clubhouse environment in Los Angeles as much as Skubal's personality. "I think that speaks to him, but that also speaks to a little bit of the culture that we've gotten here, where guys are so focused on what we can do right now that whatever happens in the future is going to happen," Muncy said.

Muncy also pointed to Skubal's refusal to come out of games as evidence of the same mindset. "There's certain guys where you don't want to come out, and that's been him every single time he's pitched for us," Muncy said. "Every time Doc's taken him out, it's been an argument to get him out of the game."

Skubal isn't the only marquee name set to test the market this winter. Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley, in an October 1 rundown of free agent rumors, noted the Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki and Tampa Bay-turned-Seattle slugger Randy Arozarena are also likely to draw big offers. Buckley cited Seattle Times reporter Ryan Divish, who wrote that "multiple MLB sources believe that Arozarena will get at minimum a four-year, $100 million deal," with some expecting a deal closer to $110 to $125 million over five years.

Buckley's reporting also flagged a wrinkle hanging over the entire offseason: the current Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire, injecting uncertainty into how front offices plan to spend. That backdrop makes Skubal's calm an outlier in a market where teams and agents alike are bracing for turbulence.

Skubal takes the mound Saturday with his focus apparently intact. According to the only teammate talking about it, Skubal hasn't said a word about free agency.