Tarik Skubal, the two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner for the Detroit Tigers, is finally clearing the air about an offseason decision that’s got everyone talking: why he didn’t get an elbow MRI last winter. His elbow is basically the most talked about ligament in baseball right now, and for good reason. What could have been a quick fix has turned into a whole saga, especially with the trade deadline looming large.
The Offseason Drama That Led Here
Back in January, Skubal knew something was off. He felt it in his pitching elbow, but he chose to ignore those symptoms instead of getting an MRI. Now, he’s basically kicking himself for it. “If I could go back, I probably should have got an MRI in January and hammered it out to where I was done with it in the offseason,” Skubal said. But here’s the kicker: he also tossed some shade at the Tigers organization. He went through a rare arbitration hearing that winter, one of only 10 across the entire league. The Tigers actually took him to court over his salary! He won big, by the way, with the arbitrator picking his $32 million number over their measly $19 million. That was a record gap between a player and a team, and Skubal made it clear he wasn’t happy. He even suggested that the “decision by the organization to take me to court” probably “had some impact subconsciously” on his choice to play things by ear with his elbow. Talk about some serious bad blood!
What This Means As The Deadline Nears
After his arbitration comments blew up, Skubal later tried to walk back the idea that he actively denied an MRI. He told reporters Thursday that an MRI “was never really in play,” and that he thought he was “trending in the right direction throughout this whole process.” He called what happened a “hiccup” in January, thinking it was “just a different soreness,” something new for him. But hey, it still led to a missed month and a half earlier this season after he got a novel treatment for loose bodies in May. Now, this is the kind of drama that swirls around when a two-time Cy Young winner is the hottest name on the MLB trade market. The Tigers are multiple games out of a wild-card spot, and nobody expects them to keep Skubal past this season. Trading him would bring in massive prospect capital or some real MLB players with more years of team control. When asked if his start on Friday could be his final one at Comerica Park, Skubal conceded, “That might be reality, a little bit.” He added that he still has another home start five days later, but the clock is ticking. The Tigers have just nine games left until the trade deadline hits. You know the league is watching every single pitch Skubal throws right now.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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