Philadelphia Phillies' Tarik Skubal Chances Just Took a Significant Turn

In recent seasons, the Philadelphia Phillies have had one of the best starting rotations in baseball, which is why they are constantly in World Series contention.

Yes, having bats like Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper is nice, but it's the Phillies' arms that have been the driving force behind the team's success.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Philadelphia has been tabbed as a potential landing spot for Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal once he hits free agency next offseason.

However, the Phillies may have just taken themselves out of the Skubal sweepstakes.

Why? Because they handed Jesus Luzardo a five-year, $135 million contract extension, keeping the left-hander in Philadelphia through 2032 (the final year of that deal features a club option).

Given that the Phillies have been monitoring their payroll rather closely, the chances of them now going and splurging on Skubal seem slim to none.

While we can never rule anything out entirely, it just doesn't seem like Skubal — who has already been linked to the Los Angeles Dodgers (of course) and both New York clubs — is bound for the City of Brotherly Love.

And for as much as team president Dave Dombrowski loves to build around pitching, it's offense that Philadelphia actually needs at this point.

Philly re-signed Schwarber in free agency, but the club also didn't add any other bats outside of Adolis Garica, who has posted a sub-.700 OPS each of the last two seasons and was non-tendered by the Texas Rangers.

If the Phillies are going to spend big money, it's probably going to be on a position player, as enticing as the idea of Skubal sounds.

But if we're being entirely honest, paying a pitcher north of $400 million (which is apparently Skubal's baseline, and he's a Scott Boras client) is scary, anyway.

Skubal is 29 years old and will be 30 by the time he is a free agent next winter. Handing him that much money is incredibly risky, and it's something Philadelphia probably won't be doing at this juncture. The Luzardo extension proved that.

The hope in Philly is that Luzardo and Cristopher Sanchez can headline the rotation for years to come and that top prospect Andrew Painter ultimately develops into a frontline starter. Skubal is nothing more than a pipe dream.

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