LAKELAND, FL – Tarik Skubal wanted to pitch again for Team USA.
The reigning two-time American League Cy Young winner and soon-to-be free agent ultimately decided to stick to the original plan, leaving Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic after his only start. The 29-year-old left-hander allowed one run across three innings Saturday, March 7, in a 9-1 win over Team Great Britain.
Skubal returned to the Tigers on Tuesday in spring training.
It was an emotional decision.
Here’s everything Skubal said about his WBC decision before Monday’s game between Team USA and Team Mexico at Daikin Park in Houston, the penultimate game in pool play.
On why Skubal made his decision: “I would love to pitch again for Team USA, but there’s some stuff that factors into it – routine, timing, the finals day itself impacts Opening Day for the Tigers. I had a lot of conversations with the club, my agent, teammates here, teammates that are still in Lakeland. The resounding message was to be done but still be around the team as much as I can.”
On if Skubal considered starting Thursday for the Tigers on four days of rest, then making himself available for Team USA in Tuesday’s WBC championship game: “I didn’t really think about that. My spring training start days were scripted out in January, with the original plan being starting [for Team USA] and then being done. When I got here, my emotions changed a little bit, and my thought process changed a little bit. I tried to make it work, but I just couldn’t. I hate it, but it’s all right. I’ll be the first to sign up for the 2028 Olympics [if MLB players are allowed to participate], or whenever the next WBC is [likely in 2030], I’ll be the first to sign up for that one, too.”
On why Skubal considered a second start for Team USA: “The guys on the field. I feel like I’ve been teammates with them for months already, and we’ve known each other for a week or whatever. Just the guys they brought in to talk. It just makes you really proud to be an American. It’s hard to walk away from – very hard. I don’t think I’m walking away. I guess I am, but I’ll be back with the club for the semifinals and finals. I’m going to make sure to be there and enjoy the moment with those guys. It just makes it difficult when you get to be teammates with all these guys.”
On Skubal receiving support from Team USA teammates and Tigers teammates: “Everyone understands my situation – and they understand how badly I want to keep competing and keep playing with this team. I respect everybody here. I respect everybody in Lakeland. I think that feeling is mutual. It means a ton. I really care about what my peers say, and the fact that my peers have my back, it means the world to me. That’s what you strive for. You can’t control the narrative out there that this creates or whatever, but the fact that my peers have my back, that means the world to me.”
On everyone Skubal talked to before making his decision: “I talked to almost everybody on this team about it. After my start, and I wanted to get through my start to make sure I’m healthy and all that stuff and then have those conversations. I talked to a lot of guys: Judgey [Aaron Judge], [Kyle] Schwarber, Breggy [Alex Bregman]. [Justin] Verlander reached out. I went back and forth with him. A.J. [Hinch], he’s always had my back. He’s known me – I’ve grown up in the big leagues under his guidance, so he had a big impact on the decision that was being made. I talked to my agent [Scott Boras], too. The way that we were going to have to go about it to have me pitch in the finals, I didn’t love the back end of it – the repercussions of having a pitch limit in that game, or if something were to happen early in the game, it messes up the whole first month of the season. It was hard. All those conversations are hard. I didn’t sleep much in the last two days, just trying to make it work. I’ve been on my phone trying to somehow make the calendar change days or somehow move Opening Day, but I don’t have that power. It was tough. I talked with [Team USA pitching coach] Andy Pettitte a ton about it. I rode home with him from the field, just to go over everything. I think the resounding message from all of those guys was, ‘Make sure to take care of yourself and your family, and we support you no matter what happens.’ I appreciate that. This room, these are the guys you want to go to war with. These guys, they grind, they care. I love it. The preparation has been unbelievable, just to watch. I’m pushing myself to be an even better version of myself. That’s something that I’ll take for the rest of my life. That’s a long-winded answer of saying a lot of people. I’m not really giving you one. I’m sorry. That’s what I got.”
On if Skubal feels at peace with his decision: “No, I’m still not. I think the only way I’ll be at peace with it is in Miami celebrating after we win the whole [expletive] thing. That will give me some peace. I don’t know. It’s a tough situation. It’s hard. It’s really hard. I’ve been trying to make it work. I promise I have. I love America. I love our country. I love everything that this tournament is about. I’ll be the first to sign up for the 2028 Olympics if they want to have me – and we figure out the timing of it. If this tournament can be at a little bit better time to give starting pitchers a chance to go out there and be who I am, I would love to do that.”
On if Skubal needed to make his decision before Monday’s game in an electric atmosphere vs. Team Mexico: “No, I think I just needed to make a decision for everyone involved. I don’t want to drag things out. I’m not here for drama. I’m not here for – trust me, there’s been enough articles with my name. I’m not here for all that stuff. I just need to make a decision to let everybody know, with the Tigers, with the club, what my plan is. It’s been cool because right when I’m telling some guys, they’re like, ‘Hey, we’ll see you in Miami, right?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ll be there.’ It’s really cool because they don’t have to say those things, and I appreciate that.”
On if Skubal’s schedule and the risk of injury influenced his decision: “Scheduling was a lot, just the way that it’s been slated for me the last two years in camp. Six days [of rest] is how we always want to give ourselves more time on the front end – because that’s when injuries are at their highest. I’d have to go five, five, five, and then after the final, I’d have to go short rest and then pitch Opening Day. A lot of that risk and injury stuff is where I drew the line. There’s a lot of risk associated with that, and then you put in the adrenaline and the heightened stuff, there’s just a big jump in workload. That’s what you want to stay away from in spring as you’re building up. Historically, if you look at data, almost all pitcher injuries are in spring or right after the All-Star break because there’s time off and then you have a jump and spike in workload. I’m just being smart. I know what this season means, too. The whole thing played into it.”
On how the WBC experienced compared to Skubal’s expectations: “Blew it out of the water. I had no idea. I’ve never worn USA across my chest. To be able to wear the stars and stripes and have pride in that, I was talking to guys in the first inning – I couldn’t even feel my legs out there. It’s just a pool-play game. Obviously, they matter, but my legs were light. I haven’t felt that since 2024, that feeling of not being able to feel. That was awesome. I loved it. I want to experience it again, and I plan on experiencing it again with this club.”
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On if Skubal was surprised about his emotions with Team USA: “I thought I had a grasp on it. I just assumed it would be an All-Star Game type of vibe, and it’s absolutely not. It couldn’t be farther from that. I feel like I know these guys, and I’ve known them for a week. I know Paul [Skenes] a little bit, but spending a week with these guys, it feels like I’ve been teammates with them for a very long time. There’s no ego in the clubhouse. Everyone has one goal of trying to win. I didn’t expect that, I guess. I was just naive to it. I totally misread how I would feel. I feel like I’m genuinely a guy that understands emotions. I pitch with a lot of them. But I missed it there – and that’s what made this decision tough.”
On if Skubal would’ve made a different decision if it were 2025 or 2027, rather than 2026 before free agency: “Yeah, probably. Probably.”
On how Skubal’s family reacted to his decision: “They were very supportive of whatever I’ve got going on. They’re like, ‘You make the decision. We support you either way. Just let us know what plane to get on.’ It was tough. It still is tough. I hate that I’m having this conversation right now.”
USA TODAY Sports columnist Bob Nightengale contributed to this report.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Everything Tarik Skubal said about his WBC decision to leave Team USA
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
