The One Way Tarik Skubal Could Work for Cardinals

The Cardinals need an ace.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) pitches during the first inning of their National League Championship Series game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on Oct 11, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals have made a ton of progress in just one year of their rebuild, and there is a lot to look forward to as they look ahead to 2027. The team isn't going to do anything over the top in free agency, but there are ways they can improve their standing for next year.

Signing Tarik Skubal is highly unlikely for the Cardinals. However, Kyle Gibson proposed one scenario where it could potentially work, comparing it to when the Texas Rangers signed Corey Seager and Marcus Semien and won the World Series a year later.

"They don't come around very often," Gibson said. "You put Skubal in here and now it's like 'alright, when our window is ready, we are not trying to find our Skubal. He's here.' It's similar to what the Rangers did with Semien and Seager. 'Hey guys, we're going to win a World Series here in the next few years, we have the best up-the-middle combo available to us right now. Let's go get them.'

"I think this is an instance where if 15 of the 26 players on your team are not your winning players for the future, the Cardinals are not a playoff team and they're not a World Series team for the next seven years. If these are your guys, who is your top of the rotation guy?"

How it could work

Oct 3, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws during the first inning of game one of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The idea here is that the Cardinals would sign Skubal with the intention of winning a World Series a few years down the road. Theoretically, that could work. But there are a couple of problems with Gibson's argument.

The Cardinals have already come out and said that they will not be spending large amounts of money and pushing the chips for 2027, and that it's still going to take time. Skubal also will require a long-term contract, and that isn't something the Cardinals do with pitchers. If they signed him to a shorter-term deal, perhaps then they could make something work.

But the best approach is probably to develop their next ace from within the organization instead of going out and signing that piece. The Cardinals aren't a big-market team, so they need to be careful about signing such contracts.

Theoretically, Skubal would give them their ace, but the Cardinals are in a different position than the Rangers were when Semien and Seager were signed to long-term deals.