It has taken fewer than four years for Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal to go from a decent pitcher to one of the best in the history of his franchise. Example: after posting 5.1 bWAR combined over his first four seasons, he racked up 6.4 in 2024 and 6.5 in 2025 on the way to back-to-back American League Cy Young awards.
Those accomplishments are incredible, but they're cold comfort to Tigers fans beginning to fret over the potential loss of their ace. Skubal, who turned 29 Thursday, can become a free agent upon the conclusion of the 2026 season.
On Thursday, Skubal responded to trade rumors beginning to swirl around him—telling Foul Territory he had no desire to be traded.
“It’s not like I want to be traded, so it’s kind of like, why am I in these conversations?” Skubal said. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t really impact what I do day-to-day. I try to just stay out of it and not look at it. That’s how I’ve handled it at the trade deadline in years past.”
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In 2024, Skubal was also the subject of rampant trade speculation. Detroit held on to the pitcher. eventually catching fire and making the playoffs.
“The way social media is it’s hard not to see things about yourself, especially when it's talking about trades and all those hypotheticals,” Skubal said. “At the end of the day, it doesn't matter.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tarik Skubal Shares Reaction to Tigers Trade Rumors.
