The San Diego Padres have major needs to address in their starting rotation this offseason.

By far the best free agent this offseason is starting pitcher Tarik Skubal.

Sounds like a match made in heaven, right?

Well, Skubal is projected to sign the richest contract for a pitcher in MLB history. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him surpass the $400 million threshold.

So could the Padres, a small market team with an already inflated payroll, afford to spend big on Skubal while also having to fill multiple other holes on the roster (and even in the starting rotation)?

According to MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the team is at least interested in seeing if that's possible.

Morosi reported on Monday that the Padres "already have expressed interested in Tarik Skubal." He also said the Padres are "among the most active teams in the free agent starter market."

Morosi's reporting is the first concrete news of the Padres being actively interested in signing Skubal. It also demonstrates just how aggressive the team's new ownership plans to be.

Padres owners Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones purchased the San Diego franchise for what was an MLB-record $3.9 billion earlier this year.

Since they were taking on a team that already had a high payroll, it was unclear just how much they'd be willing to spend.

They gave a little glimpse of their aggressiveness at this year's trade deadline, when they allowed president of baseball operations AJ Preller to go all in by adding starting pitchers Casey Mize and Robbie Ray. Now, they appear to be allowing Preller to see just how much Skubal could cost, and if it would make sense for a team that essentially needs to rebuild a rotation this offseason.

Skubal is one of the game's best pitchers, winning Cy Young awards in 2024 and 2025 in the American League. This year, he made 26 starts across the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers, going 12-7 with a 2.72 ERA and 186 strikeouts over 158.2 innings.

Padres Have Entire Starting Rotation to Fill for 2027

After Michael King opted out of his contract and the Padres declined the option on Nick Pivetta, they could theoretically be forced to add five starting pitchers this offseason.

As of now, the only clear returning starter is Randy Vasquez, and even he fell out of the rotation equation in 2026. Joe Musgrove, who pitched for the first time in two years in this year's postseason, will be back, but it's unclear what role he'll be in.

Preller said at his end-of-season press conference that he was looking forward to the challenge of essentially building an entirely new rotation this offseason.

“The idea that we have a little bit of a blank canvas and have some flexibility, I think we see that as an opportunity,” Preller said. “There’s some good pitching available on the market. We have some good pitchers that we like here at Petco [Park] that are coming back for us.

“Every year we talk about it: You’ve got to be willing to revamp your pitching staff. This offseason will be no different. We’ll have some opportunity, I think, this offseason to build a staff that we think is a championship staff through free agency, trades and continuing to develop.”

Skubal would be the surefire ace that the Padres haven't consistently had for the last few years. Whether or not they can get him while also adding potentially three more starters is another story.

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