Blue Jays could compete with Dodgers for Cy Young-winning ace in free agency

The Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers have been linked to each other for the past few seasons, especially since they went head-to-head in their pursuit of Shohei Ohtani . He went to the Dodgers, and the Blue Jays missed out.

But they made the World Series and had the Dodgers down to their last gasp; a homer to send the game to extras resulted in a heartbreaking Game 7 loss. Then, over the offseason, the two competed for Kyle Tucker before he chose the Dodgers.

Looking ahead to the 2026-2027 free agency window, the Blue Jays and Dodgers could compete again. CBS Sports' Mike Axisa named the Blue Jays and Dodgers as landing spots for Cy Young free agent ace Tarik Skubal for what could be another bidding war.

Blue Jays and Dodgers could get into a bidding war for Tarik Skubal

"Skubal is the clear-cut, inarguable No. 1 free agent," Axisa writes. "Super early possible landing spots: Blue Jays, Dodgers."

The Blue Jays are a real possible destination for Skubal in free agency. Their ownership group isn't afraid to spend money, and someone like Skubal would be just the kind of player worth splurging on.

He's going to cost a fortune, most likely north of $300 million overall, and potentially even beyond $400 million. But while expensive, the Blue Jays are a logical landing spot.

Pairing him with Dylan Cease could give the Blue Jays the elite 1-2 punch that many elite teams look for in their starting rotation.

Skubal has a 2.84 ERA in a down season by his standards. Cease is a strong Cy Young candidate in the AL this season. Having both pitchers, alongside Trey Yesavage and Jose Soriano, would make for an elite rotation.

Adding Skubal in free agency will be tricky, as they're going to have to outbid the Dodgers. It won't be easy, but if there's any team that could do it, it would be the Blue Jays.

They've gone head-to-head in the free agent market for a lot of the top players over the years, and maybe this time, to land Skubal, they'll come away as the winners.