A new rumor about the New York Mets‘ potential free agent pursuits of Tarik Skubal and Teruaki Sato suggests fans may not have to wait long to find out if either is playing in Queens next season.

With the 2026 season in the rearview, the Mets’ focus is now completely on improving the roster for 2027. Heading into the offseason, the areas the front office is expected to focus on are third base, first base, and the pitching staff.

Two players who have been linked to the team over the last few months are Skubal and Sato. The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher is viewed as the best in baseball. Is right in his prime, and could anchor the Mets rotation for the next five years. The Japanese infielder won the Triple Crown in the JCL this season and could be the long-term replacement for Pete Alonso that fans wanted last year.

Both would be great additions for the Mets because they would be great signings for any team. Since both are expected to draw a lot of interest this offseason, there is a strong possibility their destination remains unsettled before an expected lockout begins on Dec. 1. Or maybe not.

New York Mets pursuit of Tarik Skubal and Teruaki Sato could be settled far sooner than expected

According to The Athletic’s Andy McCullough, there is a growing belief that the offseason could be supercharged next month as teams look to make key additions before a new collective bargaining agreement makes major changes to payroll rules.

“For many teams, I can make an argument it’s clearly best for them to sign players currently, before the (new) CBA, than it is after,” agent Scott Boras told the outlet. “Because they have more freedom to do what they’re going to do. They can react later. Now they can get the talent. They can get what they want.”

That belief received support from an MLB executive who told The Athletic “I think there’s going to be more urgency. And I think it could be a fun month of November, if we treat Dec. 1 like, ‘This is a deadline. So let’s get some s*** done.’”

In 2021, when the owners decided to lock out players, there was also a lot of wheeling and dealing before the CBA expired on Dec. 1. So there is also previous history that backs up the idea of a wild first month of the offseason.

For fans hoping the Mets pursue Skubal and/or Sato this offseason, they may not have to wait until late December to find out if they were successful because there is a good chance they could know in a few weeks.