The one reason Tarik Skubal's injury could be good long-term news for Tigers
This injury might present an opportunity for the Tigers.
The one reason Tarik Skubal's injury could be good long-term news for Tigers originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Detroit Tigers got some truly terrible news on Monday afternoon, as Tarik Skubal, their staff ace and back-to-back Cy Young winner, was headed for the injured list.
According to Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic , the Tigers' lefty has loose bodies in his elbow and will land on the IL to miss some time, likely between two and three months. This injury is a brutal blow for the Tigers, but it does open the door to an unexpected opportunity for the Tigers next offseason, with some possible long-term good news for Detroit looking beyond the 2026 season. Tigers could turn unfortunate Tarik Skubal injury into good news long-term While the Tigers are now going to be without Skubal for a long time this season, they might now have an actual chance to bring him back on a reasonable deal this upcoming offseason.
Skubal will be 30 years old this offseason and is in the final year of his club control with Detroit. Once a free agent, there will surely be plenty of teams trying to sign him this offseason. However, this injury now presents a hurdle for the team to try to sign Skubal.
An older pitcher coming off an elbow issue like this is cause for concern. That might be an opportunity for the Tigers. While the short-term is some awful news, there is a path for there to be some good that comes out of this.