The one reason Tarik Skubal's injury could be good long-term news for Tigers

The Detroit Tigers got some truly terrible news on Monday afternoon, as Tarik Skubal, their staff ace and back-to-back Cy Young winner, was headed for the injured list.

According to Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, the Tigers' lefty has loose bodies in his elbow and will land on the IL to miss some time, likely between two and three months.

This injury is a brutal blow for the Tigers, but it does open the door to an unexpected opportunity for the Tigers next offseason, with some possible long-term good news for Detroit looking beyond the 2026 season.

Tigers could turn unfortunate Tarik Skubal injury into good news long-term

While the Tigers are now going to be without Skubal for a long time this season, they might now have an actual chance to bring him back on a reasonable deal this upcoming offseason.

Skubal will be 30 years old this offseason and is in the final year of his club control with Detroit. Once a free agent, there will surely be plenty of teams trying to sign him this offseason.

However, this injury now presents a hurdle for the team to try to sign Skubal. An older pitcher coming off an elbow issue like this is cause for concern. That might be an opportunity for the Tigers.

While the short-term is some awful news, there is a path for there to be some good that comes out of this. If the Tigers can re-sign Skubal on a prove-it deal this offseason, with some teams concerned about his ability, they might have a real chance to re-sign Skubal.

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But such a scenario is far from a guarantee. Not only could he decide to leave the Tigers this offseason, but now the Tigers might not have the chance to trade him this year if their season goes poorly.

Before the 2026 season, there was a chance that the Tigers, if they struggled and were out of the playoff race come the trade deadline, could trade Skubal for a haul.

However, Skubal is hurt and likely won't fetch as good a return if the Tigers do trade him. And with Skubal out, the Tigers' record being bad come the trade deadline might be a very real possibility.

This injury report is terrible news in the short and potentially the long-term, but there is one path the Tigers could take to bring Skubal back for another year, with MLB clubs cautious about spending on someone coming off an injury like Skubal.

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