The Tigers received a gut-punch medical update, as ace Tarik Skubal is headed for arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow, manager A.J. Hinch tells the team’s beat (link via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). A timetable for his recovery has not yet been determined, but Skubal will obviously be placed on the 15-day injured list for now. The Tigers will recall righty Ty Madden and go with a bullpen game opened by Tyler Holton in Skubal’s place tonight.
Skubal has been his typically excellent self so far in 2026. He’s started seven games, totaled 43 1/3 innings and notched a tidy 2.70 ERA to begin the season. His average fastball is down about a mile per hour relative to last year’s 97.6 mph peak, but this year’s 96.6 mph average is right in line with his 2024 levels, when he won the first of his two Cy Young trophies. Skubal has fanned 27.1% of his opponents against a superlative 3.6% walk rate.
Though it may not be the strongest start of Skubal’s career, his track record makes him the consensus top pitcher in the American League — if not all of MLB. Losing him for what will surely be an extended period is brutal for the Tigers, particularly given the team’s lackluster start to the season. Detroit is 18-17, tied with Cleveland for first place in the American League Central. Had the Tigers rushed out to a big lead, the loss of their ace — while still demoralizing — might have been easier to weather. Instead, their pedestrian play thus far has kept even the last-place Twins (15-20) within three games of a share of the division lead.
Every injury is different, but precedent suggests that Skubal should still be able to return to the mound this year. He’s not even a lock to be placed on the 60-day IL. Illustrating the variety of possible outcomes here, Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both underwent surgery to remove loose bodies within days of each other this spring. Schwellenbach was immediately placed on the 60-day IL and still hasn’t begun throwing despite a nearly two-month layoff. Waldrep, meanwhile, was never placed on the 60-day IL and is set to throw bullpen sessions this week. He could feasibly return by late May or early June.
Cautioning that the absence might “only” be two to three months isn’t much of a silver lining for Detroit fans, but it’s still noteworthy that Skubal has a very real chance of being back later this summer — possibly with a decent portion of the season left. In the meantime, however, the Tigers’ rotation depth is being put through the wringer.
Skubal joins Casey Mize, Justin Verlander and Reese Olson on the injured list. Mize is dealing with a groin strain. Verlander has inflammation in his hip. Olson underwent shoulder surgery and will miss the entire 2026 season. Prized young righty Jackson Jobe is also on the 60-day injured list while he continues his yearlong rehab from last June’s Tommy John surgery. Jobe could potentially be an option in July or August. It’s possible he and Skubal will be ramping up to return to the rotation around the same time, even. Another promising young right-hander, Troy Melton, has been out all season due to an elbow strain.
With so many pitchers on the shelf, the Tigers will go with Framber Valdez, Jack Flaherty and Keider Montero atop the rotation for the time being. Swingman Drew Anderson is an obvious candidate for the rotation. He’s posted a 5.12 ERA in 19 1/3 innings of relief this season but was dominant in the Korea Baseball Organization last year and signed a one-year, $7MM contract in free agency this winter. Anderson’s 26.5% strikeout rate, 10.8% walk rate and 13.7% swinging-strike rate all suggest that his ERA ought to be a fair bit lower; metrics like SIERA (3.45) and xERA (4.06) are far more bullish on his work.
Righty Sawyer Gipson-Long is on the 40-man roster down in Triple-A and could get a look at some point. Several of the Tigers’ minor league arms — Jake Miller, Troy Watson, Joseph Montalvo — are on the injured list in Triple-A and Double-A as well. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Detroit try to go outside the organization for some more depth, though it’s in short supply this time of season. Mize and Verlander will have spots waiting for them upon return, but Verlander has been down about a month already and isn’t yet on a rehab assignment, while the Tigers haven’t given a clear indication of how long Mize will be shelved.
The more immediate concern is how the Tigers navigate this injury and what it does to their chances in the American League Central, of course. However, Skubal’s surgery and how he pitches upon returning also cloud what could be the most lucrative trip to free agency for any pitcher in history.
Skubal clearly won’t be winning a third straight Cy Young Award now. A setback, a longer-than-anticipated rehab process and/or poor performance upon returning from the injured list could all impact what was shaping up to be the loftiest earning power of any pitcher in MLB history. If he makes it back to the mound midsummer and immediately snaps back into old form, it’s possible the injury won’t ultimately weigh down his contract much, but there are too many unknowns right now to gauge the situation with any semblance of certainty.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported that Skubal was being scratched from his start tonight.
