Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal had a heavy outing on August 28th against his former beloved team, the Detroit Tigers.
Entering free agency, and with the Tigers left unable to afford Skubal, Detroit was essentially forced to deal him to avoid having him walk at the end of the season.
The Dodgers offered a strong package of prospects and pitching talent, which satisfied the Tigers and led them to send away their star pitcher.
Skubal understood the business side, but he still has a strong attachment to the Tigers.
After being traded to the Dodgers at the deadline, Skubal said he is open to returning to the Tigers after this season, when he becomes a free agent.
“I would love to play my whole career in Detroit,” Skubal said. “I would love to. And hopefully those negotiations pick back up in November once the playoffs are done. And we’ll see where that goes.
“Hopefully they’re involved with everything; I would love to return. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about the City of Detroit and the manager, the coaching, the staff, the trainers, the teammates; it’s tough.
“And I’m going to try not to cry right now, but I love all those guys. So hopefully they’re involved in November and we’ll see what happens then.”
Still, even with all of the questions and emotions swirling, Skubal was able to set them all aside and pitch six innings against his former team, allowing only one run, getting seven strikeouts, and just four hits on the board.
Skubal’s reaction to returning to Detroit
Skubal did cry when the Tigers played a tribute video for their former face of the franchise, but after that, he kept things strictly business.
“I think I did a good job of keeping baseball, baseball, and trying to compete and give our team a chance to win,” Skubal said.
“I think you kind of saw the emotions early, but yeah, I feel like I did a good job of keeping the game baseball, but obviously this place is special to me.
“I did cry if you go watch the video, there were definitely tears, and luckily enough, I was able to kind of make it to the tunnel before more happened.
“But yeah, it’s tough, it’s tough. You know, this is a place I’ve known my entire career since 2018. It was special for sure.”
Now that Skubal has gotten this monkey off his back and returned to the place he called home for years, he can truly integrate as a Dodger and focus on helping the team in the postseason.
There will not be another moment as emotional as this one, and he gets the ability to catch his breath, process things, and get ready to close the year.
