Two-time reigning winner Tarik Skubal falls from AL Cy Young favorite to off odds board due to elbow surgery

Major League Baseball Update: Tigers’ Tarik Skubal to Undergo Elbow Surgery

We had significant news out of Major League Baseball on Monday as the Detroit Tigers announced that ace and two-time reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal will need surgery on his pitching (left) elbow and will be sidelined for an indefinite period. It isn’t a torn ligament, which is encouraging, but he could be out roughly 2-3 months to address some loose bodies in the elbow.

Skubal could be seen shaking his left arm during the seventh inning of his start last Wednesday in Atlanta. He was visited by team trainers but remained in the game and struck out the side to finish his outing. He had been penciled in for his usual start on Monday against Boston before the decision for surgery was made, following a flare-up on Sunday.

This marks his first injured list stint since 2023, though Skubal underwent Tommy John surgery while at Seattle University, forcing him to miss the 2017 season and drop to the ninth round in the 2018 MLB Draft. He also had surgery in 2022 to repair the flexor tendon in his left forearm, which sidelined him for 11 months.

Loose bodies are bone chips or small fragments of cartilage caused by repeated stress on the bone at the back of the elbow. The chips can cause pain and, in some cases, have a connection to UCL damage. But by all accounts, Skubal’s UCL is fine for now. “From my understanding, you just go take it out,” Skubal told reporters Monday. “I think the length of the rehab is probably just getting your spring training buildup up again, getting your volume up. But the procedure itself I think is pretty simple as far as what I’ve been explained. This is something that I’ve been dealing with all season. It’s good to get an answer, honestly.”

Both Tigers manager AJ Hinch and Skubal declined to disclose an estimated timetable for a return to games while discussing the situation Monday. The actual date for the surgery remains unknown. Skubal was 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA, 0.45 WHIP and 45 strikeouts in seven starts. He had been the +230 favorite at DraftKings to threepeat as AL Cy Young winner but is now off the board completely. No pitcher has ever won the AL Cy Young in three straight seasons.

The beneficiary so far is young Yankees starter Cam Schlittler, as the 25-year-old jumped from +500 to the +230 favorite. His teammate Max Fried also got a boost from +650 to +250.

Needless to say, this could be potentially devastating to the Tigers, who could have traded Skubal this offseason ahead of his unrestricted free agency next winter. But the franchise was all-in to win a World Series in 2026 — it hasn’t won a title since the memorable 1984 club. The last pennant was in 2012. The team has gone out in five games in the ALDS the past two seasons. And we can’t really blame Skubal for perhaps being a little selfish in his recovery because he was potentially looking at a record-setting contract for a starting pitcher when he hits the market.