The Blue Jays and Dodgers could be headed for another bidding war, this time over Tarik Skubal.

These two clubs have crossed paths repeatedly in recent years, starting with their pursuit of Shohei Ohtani, who chose Los Angeles.

Toronto still pushed the Dodgers to Game 7 of last year's World Series, forcing extra innings before a heartbreaking home run ended it.

They squared off again over the offseason for Kyle Tucker, who also picked the Dodgers.

Now CBS Sports' Mike Axisa names both clubs as early landing spots for Skubal, the top free agent available this winter.

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

Skubal is currently with Los Angeles after a midseason trade, but he's set to hit free agency after this season regardless of where he finishes it.

Why pairing him with Cease makes real sense

Toronto's ownership group has shown a real willingness to spend, and a pitcher of Skubal's caliber fits exactly the kind of splurge worth making.

The price will be steep, likely north of $300 million and potentially beyond $400 million overall.

Pairing him with Dylan Cease would give Toronto an elite front-of-rotation pair, the kind of 1-2 punch contending teams build around.

Skubal carries a 2.84 ERA this season, a down year by his own standards but still elite by league norms.

Cease himself is a legitimate AL Cy Young candidate, and adding Skubal alongside Trey Yesavage and Jose Soriano would give Toronto a genuinely stacked rotation.

Outbidding the Dodgers has proven difficult before, given how the Ohtani and Tucker pursuits ended.

But Toronto has repeatedly shown up as a real competitor in these top-tier free agent chases, even when it hasn't closed the deal.

Whether this time ends differently, with the Blue Jays actually winning a head-to-head bidding war against the Dodgers, is the question that'll define this offseason's biggest storyline.