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Tarik Skubal to undergo surgery for loose bodies in left elbow
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- Tarik Skubal to undergo surgery for loose bodies in left elbow
Tarik Skubal has been scratched from his start.
He has been placed on the injured list.
And he needs surgery.
The 29-year-old left-hander won't start for the Detroit Tigers on Monday, May 4, against the Boston Red Sox in the opener of the three-game series at Comerica Park. He is scheduled to undergo surgery to remove loose bodies in his left elbow, manager A.J. Hinch announced before Monday's game.
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"It sucks," Skubal said.
Skubal – the reigning two-time American League Cy Young winner – could be sidelined for two to three months, but Hinch and Skubal declined to provide a timetable for his return.
The date, location and surgeon for the procedure haven't been determined.
"Whatever the timeline is, I don't have one," Skubal said. "I don't think it's fair to probably guess and create one right now."
"We have a decent idea, but it's nothing I can publicly talk about right now," Hinch said.
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Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers pitches in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta on April 29, 2026.
Skubal has been battling this issue intermittently since before spring training.
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He experienced the sporadic pain in his left elbow on the big stage in the seventh inning of his last start against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park, described after the game by Hinch as "a funny feeling on the outside of his arm."
He shook his left arm, removed his glove and rubbed his left elbow, receiving a visit from Hinch, assistant athletic trainer Kelly Rhoades and catcher Dillon Dingler . He stayed in the game after a practice pitch, then struck out the side.
"The thing in Atlanta just happened to be – it's hard to hide from the camera when you're on the mound," Skubal said, "so I didn't have time to fix it. Sometimes, I can do it in the dugout when there are no cameras. This is something I've been dealing with all season."
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Before Sunday's game, Skubal wasn't worried about the health of his left arm heading into Monday's start.
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Something changed within 24 hours.
"I've been dealing with some stuff, but I thought it was progressing and getting better," Skubal said. "Yesterday, I had something [during catch play] that was different than what I had been dealing with. I wasn't very comfortable pitching today, so that led to getting the scan and seeing what's going on – and then making the decision to get surgery as soon as possible so I can be back as soon as possible."
That's why the Tigers scratched Skubal from Monday's scheduled start against the Red Sox. He has a 2.70 ERA with six walks and 45 strikeouts across 43⅓ innings in seven starts.
It's unclear exactly when he will pitch again.
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But don't expect to see him on the mound for multiple months.
"It's good to get an answer, honestly," Skubal said.
"He's going to want to be back very soon and complete as much of the season as he can – and pitch deep into October," Hinch said. "That hasn't changed at all. The route to get there is a little bit bumpy now for him, and we're going to need to adapt to not having him for the foreseeable future. But there's light at the end of this tunnel to look forward to."
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Skubal – a client of agent Scott Boras who won a record $32 million salary for his final year of team control by beating the Tigers' $19 million offer in a historic arbitration hearing – is set to become a free agent after the 2026 season.
He has been projected to become the first pitcher in MLB history to secure a $400 million contract on the open market, but his health will factor into his payday in free agency.
This will be his third left elbow surgery in his baseball career.
He previously underwent Tommy John surgery (to repair the ulnar collateral ligament) in 2016 at Seattle University and flexor tendon surgery in 2022 with the Tigers.
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"From my understanding, you just go take it out," Skubal said, discussing the upcoming elbow surgery to remove loose bodies. "I think the length of the rehab is probably just getting your spring training buildup again, getting your volume up. But the procedure itself, I think, is pretty simple as far as what's been explained. I'm not a doctor, but I'm not too worried about it."
Since his July 4, 2023, return from flexor tendon surgery, Skubal has registered a 2.41 ERA with a 4.5% walk rate and a 31.2% strikeout rate across 511 innings in 84 starts. His 17.5 fWAR ranks first among all MLB pitchers during that span, ahead of Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez (13.5 fWAR) in second place on the leaderboard.
Skubal won the AL Cy Young Award in 2024 and 2025 for his full-season performances, leading the Tigers in their back-to-back postseason appearances. (He also won the AL pitching Triple Crown in 2024 with 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts.)
The ninth-round pick in the 2018 draft has been the best pitcher in baseball for exactly 34 months.
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Now, he's sidelined with an elbow injury that requires surgery.
"I'm going to come back and be the same guy," Skubal said. "I'm not worried about that. Unfortunately, I've had two arm injuries before – and I think I've come back pretty well from those. I'll come back and try to be the same version of myself."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal injury update: Tigers pitcher needs elbow surgery
