The pivotal role that ace pitcher Tarik Skubal plays for the Detroit Tigers became glaringly evident throughout May, a month in which he was sidelined following surgery to extract a loose particle from his pitching elbow. During that stretch, the Tigers managed only six victories and plunged to the lowest rung of the American League Central Division. Although they strung together a modest winning run at the start of June, they have since regressed, dropping five of their last seven contests. Currently, the team resides in the division basement with a disappointing 30-44 record after 74 games.
This predicament casts a shadow over Skubal’s long-term future with the organization, as he is poised to hit free agency at the conclusion of this season. With the MLB Trade Deadline approaching, Tigers executive Scott Harris may soon confront the challenging prospect of parting ways with one of the franchise’s finest homegrown arms.
Detroit Tigers Ace Tarik Skubal States The Obvious After Their Latest Loss
Following a series defeat in which the Tigers lost two of three games to the Houston Astros on the road, their standing in the playoff race remains precarious they would be well outside postseason contention if the season ended today. After that loss, Skubal acknowledged the clear reality: the team must improve its performance, or else roster alterations could be imminent.
“The reality is we need to play better baseball or else come the deadline, you give the front office an option to reassess where this team is,” Skubal told The Detroit News earlier this week in a story published Thursday. “And if they don’t think what we have is a World Series- or playoff-caliber team, then the whole team is going to look different. That’s just the nature of the beast.”
Skubal elaborated further:
“The future for a lot of people in this room not just myself the outlook could look very much different in two months and it all comes to an abrupt end,” he said. “We still control our destiny a little bit. We still do. We play the team this weekend that’s winning our division. It’s another big series. You don’t want to be playing playoff baseball in June, but it feels like we’re playing playoff baseball. We don’t have very much room for error and everyone understands that. Everyone understands there has to be a sense of urgency. There has to be. Not panic. But there has to be a sense of urgency to try to win every game we play.”
Skubal and the Tigers are set to welcome the Chicago White Sox to Comerica Park for a three-game series beginning Friday evening.
Is Tarik Skubal Thinking About The Trade Deadline?
With the MLB Trade Deadline less than two months away, how much is Skubal contemplating the possibility of being traded?
“I don’t think about it a lot,” Skubal said of the trade deadline. “I try not to let that consume me because I need to worry about what I’m doing today. … But there’s also the reality part to it. Everybody, the whole room, needs to focus on winning tonight’s game, winning a series, winning the next series and just let it snowball.”
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