Tigers Must Turn Things Around Quickly

Detroit cannot be in position where selling makes sense at the Trade Deadline.

It’s danger time for the Detroit Tigers. Since they lost their ace Tarik Skubal to his elbow injury, they have been in a complete free fall. They are 2-12 in their last 14 games and are tied for last in the AL Central with a 20-29 record. If they do not turn things around in a significant way, the return of Tarik Skubal will not mean anything and he could be returning only to be shipped out of time at the Trade Deadline.

Injuries have really impacted this Detroit team. Their list is quite long and full of potential impact players.

While this stretch of baseball is really challenging their depth, they have to find a way to turn things around if they want to make Skubal’s return mean something. In this brutal 14 game stretch, they are not doing anything well.

Runs: 29th

wRC+: 28th (71)

ERA: 21st (4.57)

Tarik Skubal is out recovering from removing lose bodies in his elbow. They are saying that a six week recovery is possible and it may be possible since he is already playing catch a week removed from surgery. His return will likely be sometime in the middle or end of June. That means that Skubal should be fully healthy for the most important stretch of the season.

Photo Credit: Mark Cunningham / Contributor / Getty Images

For the Tigers, this bad stretch of baseball may cost them Skubal’s final guaranteed year in Detroit. With Skubal’s impending free agency at the end of the season, the Tigers front office will have a difficult decision to make. Things would be very different if they had one of the best records in the American League. But they don’t.

Being nine games under .500 and trailing so many teams in the Wild Card (albeit only 3.5 games) means they have about nine weeks to turn things around. If the Tigers are hovering around .500 or trailing by multiple games in the Wild Card race come the Trade Deadline, the Tigers front office will have to decide if they want to roll the dice and try to catch fire and sneak into the playoffs or the Tigers could trade Skubal for a strong package of players and prospects. A trade of Skubal would allow the Tigers to continue to build their organization for the future.

Every game they drop further from .500 makes the decision easier for the Detroit front office. There’s no way they want to trade away the game’s best pitcher. However, they cannot lose sight of the bigger picture in Detroit. If the team continues to free fall, the only decision will be to trade Skubal.

Luckily for the Tigers, they have a softer part of their schedule coming up to finish the month of May. Here are their next three series including the remaining two games against the Guardians.

2 vs Guardians

3 @ Orioles

3 vs Angels

3 @ White Sox

A strong two weeks and the Tigers can be right back in the mix of not only the AL Wild Card picture but the AL Central. A bad American League could be the reason the Tigers remain in the mix and potentially are able to hang on to Skubal for a stretch run.

Nobody envies the position the Detroit front office is in over the next couple of months. However, their decision could have massive implications for the future of their organization. And it could have massive implications for the state of the 2026 season. Returning to winning should keep Skubal in Detroit for a few extra months.