The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma reports that “the Cubs appear unlikely to enter the bidding war for” Tarik Skubal.

Sharma reports that the Cubs have been reluctant to match teams like the Mets and Dodgers when it comes ot free agent spending, especially with pitchers, so Skubal is an unrealistic target, but “they will at least check in on every other free-agent pitcher.” That would certainly be warranted because the Cubs have one healthy pitcher with starting experience on their roster right now, and it’s Javier Assad. Justin Steele will be coming back from injury, and Edward Cabrera could move back into the rotation, but the Cubs need a few more arms. It’s just unlikely that Skubal is one of them.