Out of every pitcher in the last few seasons, none have been as good as Tarik Skubal. He has won back-to-back Cy Young awards, and even before that, he performed well in 2023 in 15 starts with a 2.80 ERA. In 2024, Skubal won his first Cy Young with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts. In 2025, he was even better, posting an 2.21 ERA with 241 strikeouts. Not to mention, Skubal walked just 35 in 2024, and 33 in 2025, both years he started 31 games. Unfortunately for Skubal though, he could see his price tag fall down majorly after an injury that will sideline him for a while.
Injury Problems Around Major League Baseball
Skubal Could Have Been, and Could Still Be a $500M Pitcher
Undoubtedly, teams like the New York Yankees, New York Mets, or the Toronto Blue Jays were planning and could still be planning to pay Skubal an unbelievable amount of money. The Tigers superstar has amazing control of the strike zone, while also having a good velocity on his fastball, which has sit around 97-98 mph since 2024. Now however, Skubal will undergo surgery that will remove loosie bodies from his elbow.
This same injury has sidelined both Edwin Diaz and Hunter Greene for a major portion of the season, and it could affect the amount of money he could get in free agency. Of course, Skubal will probably return at a portion of the season to where he can still pitch in a lot more games, well, maybe not a ton of games, but enough to either keep him an expensive free agent of tank his price.
Detroit Tigers Among Other Teams to See Aces Hit the IL
Some major injuries to occur this season:
Spencer Schwellenbach, Atlanta Braves
Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox (should return soon)
Cade Horton, Chicago Cubs (Tommy-John)
Ryan Pepiot, Tampa Rays (season-ending)
Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds
Hunter Brown, Houston Astros
There are still many, many more injuries to aces or just good starting pitchers. However, these are pretty much the most notable, excluding Skubal. Schwellenbach was amazing last season, and will be on the IL for a couple more months. Crochet should be back soon, but in the games he started this season, he had a 6.30 ERA. Horton pitched to an amazing 2.67 ERA in 22 starts and 23 appearances last season, and in his first two starts of 2024, he was still good.
However, instead of being a stalwart of the rotation, Horton will miss all of the 2026. Pepiot will also miss the whole season with a right-hip injury. The right-hander hasn’t been an ace his whole career, but he has been that reliable pitcher who any team would love to have. Greene, one of the best starters in America, probably won’t be back for some time still. Greene is an unbelievable pitcher, but he ability to stay healthy is an issue.
Finally, Brown is a Cy Young caliber pitcher, and luckily, Brown should be back very soon to help the Houston Astros, who have been one of the worst teams in baseball. Even then though, it isn’t a good thing to see early injuries to pitchers.
Can the Tigers Survive Without Their Ace?
The bad thing is that Skubal will be out for a big portion of the season. The good thing? The American League has been awful this season, with somehow the 18-18 Detroit Tigers leading the AL Central. The Tigers also managed to sign Frambler Valdez, a very good left-handed pitcher who has been pretty good so far this season with a 3.32 ERA and 30 strikeouts. Unfortunately for the Tigers though, their rotation is pretty awful even with those things combined:
Frambler Valdez, 3.32 ERA, 30 K, 14 BB
Jack Flaherty, 5.90 ERA, 32 K, 25 BB
Keider Montero, 3.48 ERA, 25 K, 7 BB
These three at the moment are the only sure thing. Flaherty, who actually helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win their first World Series of the last twos seasons, has been downright awful. The Tigers signed him after a 194 strikeout, 3.17 ERA 2024 season. However, Flaherty was bad in 2025, as he posted a 4.64 ERA with 188 strikeouts, and 59 walks. This season, somehow, he has walked 25 in seven games, and has a 5.90 ERA. Such numbers are eye-watering and disgusting.
Montero has been pretty good with his numbers, yet, the Tigers only have three reliable pitchers in their rotation. Actually two, but at least Flaherty is a starter. If the Tigers want to make the playoffs this season, they definitely need to find a way to survive their ugly rotation.
The Tigers can definitely survive without their man, Skubal. However, one thing is for sure, there offense is going to need to make up for what the rotation cannot.
Main Image: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
