The two-time Cy Young winner is considered the top free agent on the market this offseason.
The Mets are set to sit down with Tarik Skubal next week as they push to land the offseason's most coveted arm. The meeting puts New York firmly in the mix for a pitcher who has already won two Cy Young awards and is viewed as the best free agent available.
Signing Skubal would not fix everything on the Mets' roster. The pitching staff still carries real question marks beyond him, and the lineup could use another bat or two. Even so, adding a pitcher of his caliber would be the kind of move that changes a team's outlook heading into next season.
New York enters the meeting as one of the favorites for Skubal, though plenty of other suitors are expected to be in the running given his status on the market. How the meeting goes, and whether the Mets can translate interest into an actual contract, will shape the next phase of their offseason. For now, this is a step, not a signing, but it is the clearest sign yet of how seriously New York is pursuing him.