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Could Detroit Tigers Ace Tarik Skubal Not Be Done Pitching for Team USA After All? cover image

Could Detroit Tigers Ace Tarik Skubal Not Be Done Pitching for Team USA After All?

Maddy Hudak
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After Team USA dominated Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic, Detroit Tigers' star Tarik Skubal is finding it hard to walk away.

Initially, the plan for Detroit Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal was to make one start for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic before returning to spring camp for his club to prepare for the 2026 campaign. Things changed for Skubal once he took the mound and felt the emotions of playing with the talented U.S. team that dominated Great Britain in Saturday’s victory. So much so, that the star Tigers pitcher is now reconsidering his decision to leave the team after that one start, according to ESPN.

"I didn't expect these types of emotions to run through my brain or my thoughts to differ," Skubal told reporters. "I was pretty committed to making a start and getting back to camp.

However, things changed for Skubal, and he plans to have some conversations now and figure out his next steps. It comes ahead of Skubal’s potential final season in Detroit without a deal worked out, and he would be expected to garner a lucrative deal on the free agent market. Right now, his future in the WBC is weighing on his mind. Tigers’ manager AJ Hinch spoke with reporters, telling them that he spoke with Skubal for a moment on Saturday night, and understands his determination and the difficult position that puts him in. Skubal pitched for Team USA while they improved to 2-0 in WBC pool play with a 9-0 win over Great Britain.

Here is the full story from Tigers Roundtable writer Chris Castellani on Skubal’s role in the dominant win for Team USA, and one that may now not be Skubal’s last appearance.

I want there to be something of a Tigers slant to this. Tarik Skubal became a big part of the story when it was announced that he was only going to be allowed to throw 50 pitches in the one start that he is likely to make in the WBC. And after the first pitch, Tarik was great. It was everything that you would expect from Tarik Skubal against the lineup like Great Britain. The stuff was overwhelming and you could still tell that the fastball isn’t quite tuned up to what we’re used to seeing from him, but didn’t really matter. He was mixing speeds really well, and the changeup was lethal.
roundtable.ioTarik Skubal Puts Together A Strong Start As The US Dominates Great Britain In The WBCI want there to be something of a Tigers slant to this. Tarik Skubal became a big part of the story when it was announced that he was only going to be allowed to throw 50 pitches in the one start that he is likely to make in the WBC. And after the first pitch, Tarik was great. It was everything that you would expect from Tarik Skubal against the lineup like Great Britain. The stuff was overwhelming and you could still tell that the fastball isn’t quite tuned up to what we’re used to seeing from him, but didn’t really matter. He was mixing speeds really well, and the changeup was lethal.

Skubal did allow a home run with some jitters on his first pitch to Nate Eaton but found his legs and went to record five strikeouts on 41 pitches in three innings. Pittsburgh Pirates’ ace Paul Skenes will take the next start for the U.S. team against Mexico on March 9 at 8 p.m. ET.

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