Amid all the trade deadline buzz about every player being available, Tarik Skubal found a way to avoid getting traded. The Detroit Tigers were forced to pull him from a game early, with apparent arm fatigue or a “tweak” with which they wanted to take precautions.
Now, some two weeks later, the Detroit Tigers have announced that Tarik Skubal will be moving to the long-term injured reserve after placing him on the 60-day Injured List (IL), making it known that he will not pitch again for the team in 2022.
It’s another hit to the starting rotation but a big blow for the southpaw, who has been the team’s acting ace after Casey Mize went down with Tommy John Surgery and Eduardo Rodríguez departed the organization for personal reasons. Skubal was the centerpiece of the team’s rotation and will not pitch again this year.
According to MLive‘s Evan Woodberry, Skubal felt a tweak in his arm, and he noted it did not feel right. After the team pulled with optimism that he could return, the outlook became bleak. With Skubal heading to the IL for the long-term, it could greatly shift his future outlook.
Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal’s 2022 season is over.
In a tweet from the Chris McCosky of the Detroit News, he notes that Skubal’s issue is in the elbow, and he will be heading to see a specialist. Those words never result in good outcomes. Here’s the tweet and quote tweet.
Skubal is going to see Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday. Hinch said won't know, won't speculate on whether surgery will be required until next week https://t.co/hTDb9yZUUG
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) August 12, 2022
It’s early to speculate, but the phrasing McCosky uses, paired with the Tigers shutting him down for the rest of the 2022 season, lead me to believe the outlook for Skubal is not the brightest. The Tigers might be seeing him head down the Tommy John road.
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While the outlook on that surgery has changed from what it was, it means they lose the southpaw for 14 months or so in a year where they have already lost Mize. There have also been rumors about the Tigers wanting to move Skubal, which hinges on whoever takes over as the new general manager.
With that in mind, Tommy John surgery would shift the trade talks narrative entirely, shutting them down altogether. His entire future outlook could undergo quite the shift in the coming months. The recent news and shift to the 60-day IL should leave Tiger fans a little more worried about what the future holds for the southpaw.
He should be an anchor in the team’s rotation, being someone who can lock down a middle of the rotation spot, but he may be on the sidelines for quite a while if the visit with the specialist results in Tommy John surgery.
http://gty.im/1242253822
Skubal pitched in 21 games for the Tigers in 2022, where he has accrued 117.2 innings pitched, managing a 3.52 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, and punching out 117 in the process. He was the team’s ace in a year where pitchers staying healthy was unheard of.
He was one of the few who continued to make his starts and will now see his season come to an end early. An unfortunate end of the season for the young arm who’s still settling into his role with the Tigers organization.
