The business of baseball sucks.
The whole system is idiotic.
It sucks Tarik Skubal is now on the Los Angeles Dodgers after being traded for three prospects: two pitchers and an outfielder.
It sucks the Detroit Tigers will play the rest of the season without their best pitcher, a two-time Cy Young Award winner.
Everything about this sucks. It’s a broken, flawed, incredibly frustrating system.
Having said that, let me say this: I do think Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris made the right decision, trading Skubal at this point. At least, under these circumstances, in the system that is in place for now.
Then again, that could all change next season, if there is a next season, which is in serious jeopardy because MLB is going to try to fix it. And this Skubal situation will be a prime example of what’s wrong with it.
But that’s getting ahead in the story.
You could say: Stop complaining. If the Tigers wanted to keep Skubal, then just pay him $400 million. Didn’t hear you complaining when Mike Ilitch was throwing money around the Red Wings.
You could say: It seems crazy, if not incredibly risky, to pay a massive, long-term deal for a pitcher who is 29 and has had arm injuries.
You could say: If Skubal really wanted to stay in Detroit, he could have accepted less.
You could say: freakin’ Dodgers. I hate ‘em.
You could say: Don’t complain about what the Tigers got in return, it’s just a short-term rental; and they would have gotten more if they would have done this before the season.
And all of those things have differing layers of truth and perspective.
But all of those statements miss the bigger point: The true source of this issue hinges on local TV money and revenue. The Dodgers have a local TV deal that pays an average of $334 million each season, and it will swell to more than $500 million per year in 2038.
The Tigers’ local TV deal pays significantly less. The Dodgers’ revenue in 2025 was $850 million, according to Forbes. The Tigers’ revenue was estimated at $363 million.
And in this system, smaller market teams just can’t compete with that. Heck, most of the MLB can’t compete with that.
Ugh. The whole situation makes you want to scream. But more than anything, I feel bad for Tigers fans who, once again, are the real losers in this. Sure, you can be ticked at Skubal. Ticked at ownership. Ticked at baseball.
But, in the end, it’s the fans who are missing a chance to watch a homegrown talent stay in Detroit. When you step back and look at the big picture, that’s idiotic. Right now, I’m just sick and tired of the entire debate: trade him or keep him … sign him or let him go … blame this guy, blame that one.
So, right now, I want to do something different. I went into the Free Press archives and found a bunch of stories I’ve written about Skubal over the years. I took out snippets; and when you pull them together, it’s how I will remember Skubal.
Not what he said about arbitration. Not how many innings he pitched in this game or that one. Not what he said about wanting to buy at the trade deadline. Because when you get over the anger, get over feeling jilted, it’s a remarkable story, really.
[ Scott Harris’ gamble on Tarik Skubal trade leaves Tigers with chip on shoulder ]
Skubal is a guy who was built by the Tigers. It’s a pure Made in Michigan story.
And it’s ridiculous what Detroit is losing.
May 7, 2019: Tigers LHP prospect Skubal may be the steal of last year’s draft
But here’s another player from that draft who keeps turning heads: Tarik Skubal, a left-handed pitcher, whose fastball touches 95 m.p.h.
Because it’s starting to look like the Tigers found a gem in the ninth round.
If he continues to develop, it will be an all-out steal …
Feb. 21, 2020: Skubal sizzles in spring opener, looks like a future star
LAKELAND, Fla. – Detroit Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire had seen enough.
As Tarik Skubal – one of the Tigers’ top prospects, totally dominated on Friday afternoon while pounding the strike zone – Gardenhire looked over at Tigers general manager Al Avila, who was sitting behind home plate.
Gardenhire pointed playfully at his chest, as if to say: “I want him. Let me have him in Detroit!”
This is Skubal’s first MLB camp, but he has looked comfortable and acts like he belongs.
Skubal is considered the No. 4 prospect in the Tigers organization by MLB Pipeline, behind Casey Mize, Matt Manning and Riley Greene. Mize and Manning are both in the Tigers’ big-league camp.
“It’s nice to have people that you are super comfortable with, coming into this environment where you don’t know a lot of people,” he said. “You already have guys you are comfortable with and have leaned on.”
April 21, 2020: Skubal, dad reminder of how baseball used to be
Russ Skubal sat in the stands at Joker Marchant Stadium, trying to hold his cell phone steady. He was broadcasting a Facebook Live feed to friends and family, as his son, Tarik Skubal, pitched a spring training game for the Tigers in early March.
“This is surreal,” Russ said, sitting in the stands in Lakeland, Florida. “I can’t even believe I’m sitting here right. It’s just kind of just crazy. It’s been really exciting for me personally, because it’s been really fun to watch him have success after the multiple struggles. He had to overcome being from a small school and overcoming Tommy John surgery.”
Now, that scene seems like a lifetime ago.
Major League Baseball shut down spring training because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the season has been put on hold.
“It was a season that looked like it was going to be amazing for him and it fell off the cliff,” Russ said in a telephone interview from his home in Arizona.
Aug. 9, 2020: Skubal on COVID fight: ‘It did get scary’
The third night was the worst.
While battling COVID-19, Tigers pitching prospect Tarik Skubal had a fever that spiked to 103.7 degrees.
“It did get scary,” Skubal said in a Zoom call with reporters Saturday morning. “That’s the hottest I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”
Aug. 19, 2020: Skubal on a rough debut: ‘You learn from it’
Tigers pitching coach Rick Anderson put his arm around Tarik Skubal in the dugout Tuesday night after the 23-year-old rookie struggled in his major league debut.
It looked like a father talking to a son who fell off his bike and skinned his knee.
Anderson’s body language was easy to read: It was a rough start, not the debut you wanted, but it’s over. You can breathe again and relax. You made some mistakes but you can learn from this. You threw some good pitches and that’s what you have to remember. Learn from the bad ones, remember the good ones. Oh, and you are pitching again in five days. Welcome to the big leagues, kid.
Skubal, one of the Tigers’ top prospects, lasted just two innings, giving up four runs off seven hits.
“You learn from it,” said Skubal, “You learn a lot about yourself and you know how you’re competing and how the adrenaline flows a little bit differently.”
July 9, 2024: Should the Tigers trade Skubal or extend him with Greene?
If the Tigers do decide to trade him, the longer they wait, the less they will get.
If they are unable to extend him and wait 11/2 years from now and he turns into a potential rental player for some team, the return will be even smaller. That’s the worst-case scenario.
Oct.1, 2024: Skubal is already MLB’s best pitcher. Now he’s looking for playoff glory
The celebration spilled across Comerica Park – players were hugging and taking selfies and putting on post-season T-shirts – and Tarik Skubal walked across the field with one thing on his mind.
“Where’s the beer?” he screamed late Friday night after the Detroit Tigers clinched a spot in the 2024 American League wild-card series.
He took a few more steps.
“Where’s the beer?” he repeated.
That’s the fun side of Skubal, the Tigers’ ace who will get the start on Tuesday against the Houston Astros. He is the same fun-loving guy – he hasn’t changed a bit in that way – even after becoming the best pitcher in the AL.
Nov. 21, 2024: Cy Young proves Skubal is freakin’ best pitcher on the planet
So, before you ponder one of the greatest seasons for a pitcher in Tigers history — Skubal becomes just the fifth Tiger to win a Cy Young, joining Denny McLain in 1968 and ’69, Willie Hernandez in 1984, Justin Verlander in 2011 and Max Scherzer in 2013. “It’s an honor just to have my name be spoken in the same sentence as those guys,” Skubal said.
Before you consider the amazing stats – 2.39 ERA, 0.922 WHIP, 18 wins, 228 strikeouts and just 35 walks in 192 innings as he won the pitching Triple Crown. …
Before you talk about his perseverance – overcoming Tommy John surgery in college and flexor tendon surgery in 2022. …
Before you marvel at his ability to fire strikes like a laser-guided missile. …
You have to start with the core of his being: Skubal’s obsession with winning, which started when he was growing up in a house with five boys.
“The boys were super, super competitive,” his father Russ Skubal said. “I remember having to go outside and say, ‘Boys, no broken bones today.'”
April 2, 2025: Skubal’s amazing, heartfelt trip home to Seattle U revealed a lot about who he is
SEATTLE – If you want to truly understand somebody.
If you want to see a different side.
All you have to do is follow them home.
So on Tuesday morning, I followed Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal to the place where his life completely changed. Past the city limits of Seattle. Across a floating bridge. Over Lake Washington and into Bellevue, the affluent city where Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.
To Bannerwood Stadium, a small baseball field with an artificial turf infield but the outfield grass can get so wet and soggy that a fly ball has been known to shoot into the muck, get buried and disappear. It is the home field of Seattle University – the place where Skubal pitched in college and his life transformed.
The sky was grey, the air nippy when Skubal appeared in the dugout. He bro-hugged Donny Harrel, his old baseball coach at Seattle.
“My favorite part when he walks in here is that big cheesy smile,” Harrel said of Skubal. “Where he’s just home for a little bit.”
Skubal – the reigning American League Cy Young award winner – stood on the side and watched a college pitcher finish a bullpen and then gave a relaxed talk to the pitchers. Skubal talked about everything: how he approaches a bullpen – stressing process over results – to how important it is for teammates to hold each other accountable, to how he conditions and prepares.
“Nutrition is such an undervalued thing,” Skubal said. “I have a PB&J an hour before every game. It’s something that sits well in my stomach and won’t make me nauseous. The day before, I eat a lot. My dinner is usually pretty big, some sort of steak, some sort of potato. I don’t care for vegetables.”
A few players smiled and laughed.
The Cy Young award winner doesn’t like veggies!
April 6, 2026: Skubal, Verlander already sharing lessons
Let me take you behind the scenes.
To the far side of the Detroit Tigers clubhouse in Comerica Park.
Justin Verlander and Tarik Skubal were sitting next to each other on Sunday, April 5, having a long conversation.
“He’s been a great resource for me,” Skubal said. “We’ll talk about any idea that kind of pops through my head. Anything baseball-related, I usually bring to him, and there’s some off-the-field stuff that we talk about, too. And it’s his experiences with just the game of baseball and what he’s been through.”
These two share experiences not a lot of people on the planet can talk about.
Here is Skubal, a guy who has won back-to-back American League Cy Young awards.
And there is Verlander, who has three of them.
“He has an impact on everybody,” Skubal said. “Just his presence matters.”
And now, we are here.
Skubal is gone. Just like Verlander before him.
Turns out, they share that, too.
“I’m very appreciative of everything the Tigers have done for me, just drafting me in 2018, giving a kid a chance out of a small school and giving me every resource to use,” Skubal told reporters in West Sacramento, California, after the trade. “I feel like I’ve experienced a lot and kind of gone through the ups and downs, and gone through a lot of failure early in my career. And this club never stopped believing in me. You know, kept rolling me back out there every fifth day when I probably didn’t deserve to be. So that’s something that I’ll never take for granted. You know, the fan support of me and my family everywhere I go, I’ve always truly appreciated that, and it means a lot more than they probably get credit for.”
And that is how the Skubal era has ended.
You can be mad. You can be sad. You can be glad it’s over.
But I keep coming back to one point: The business of baseball sucks.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: It sucks Tarik Skubal is gone, but here’s where the blame starts
Reporting by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
