Detroit Tigers ace and two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal will have arthroscopic surgery for loose bodies in his left elbow, manager A.J. Hinch said Monday.
Hinch told reporters that Skubal will have the procedure at a date still to be determined after the left-hander felt pain in his elbow Sunday and underwent tests, which revealed the injury.
Hinch did not give a timetable for Skubal’s return but said it would be an “easy process and procedure.” The procedure typically sidelines players for two to three months.
“From my understanding, you just go take it out,” Skubal told reporters Monday. “I think length of the rehab is probably just getting your spring training buildup up again, getting your volume up. But the procedure itself I think is pretty simple as far as what I’ve been explained.”
Skubal, who was scheduled to start against the Boston Red Sox on Monday night, said he made the decision to have the procedure “as soon as possible so that way I can be back as soon as possible.”
He is 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA over seven starts this season, striking out 45 over 43â…“ innings. The Tigers are tied for first place in the AL Central with an 18-17 record.
“Been dealing with some stuff, but I thought it was progressing and getting better,” Skubal said. “[Sunday] I had something that kind of was different than what I’ve been dealing with. I had some conversations with the training staff, A.J., trying to figure out what’s going on, and wasn’t very comfortable pitching today.”
Skubal last pitched in a 4-3 defeat against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, giving up two runs on five hits in seven innings while striking out seven. In that game, Hinch and a trainer visited the mound after Skubal rubbed his left arm after a 2-2 pitch in the seventh inning.
Skubal threw one warmup pitch, decided he was OK and struck out the side to end his night.
“This is something that I’ve been dealing with all season,” Skubal told reporters Monday. “It’s good to get an answer, honestly.”
According to ESPN Research, Skubal has thrown 3,211 pitches at or above 95 mph since the start of the 2024 season, which is 234 more than any other MLB pitcher.
Following the news, Skubal went from being the +250 favorite to again win the AL Cy Young to being removed from DraftKings’ odds board entirely. Cam Schlittler became the new favorite at +230, with his New York Yankees teammate Max Fried just behind at +260.
Skubal,who is set to be a free agent after this season, pitched for the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic this spring but was careful with his workload, throwing in just one game before returning to spring training with the Tigers. He won a record salary arbitration case in February and is being paid $32 million this season, far exceeding the team’s $19 million offer.
The two-time All-Star had an 18-4 record with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 2024 and was 13-6 with a 2.21 ERA and 241 strikeouts last year. He’s also been effective in the postseason, with a 2-1 record, 2.04 ERA and 56 strikeouts over six starts.
The Tigers have recalled right-hander Ty Madden, while left-hander Tyler Holton will serve as the opener for the second game in a row after pitching two-thirds of an inning in Sunday’s 7-1 victory against the Texas Rangers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
