Tarik Skubal Cannot Save the Detroit Tigers’ Season Alone
The clock is ticking for Detroit. Getting Skubal back will help, but more needs to change for the Tigers to salvage their season.
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The last time the Detroit Tigers had much reason to celebrate was when the team announced they had brought back franchise legend Justin Verlander for the 2026 season. Shortly thereafter, Reese Olson and Troy Melton injuries were announced, starting what would become an injury trend that included Verlander.
Detroit was weathering the storm until Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal suffered an injury of his own, spiraling the Tigers to a 6-18 record in May. Initial reports had Skubal missing multiple months, but in what felt like a plot twist from a movie, Skubal’s elbow underwent a new surgery that has him set to return in the near future.
While Skubal’s return certainly improves the Tigers’ chances of clawing back into the ho-hum AL playoff picture, Detroit needs more than just their ace. They need their identity.
The Tigers’ Loss of Identity
Two seasons ago, the Tigers made a miraculous and improbable run to the playoffs. A team that sold off at the deadline established themselves as a pesty underdog that battled every single day. The “Gritty Tigs” nickname quickly caught on, and the persona became infectious throughout the clubhouse and the fanbase.
“A city that doesn’t care about the odds has a baseball team to match.”
A line delivered by team announcer Jason Benetti that encapsulated everything the Tigers had become. Pitching chaos, taking the extra base, battling each and every at-bat. The team had an identity that they were proud of it and it meant something.
The 2026 season feels different. Injuries depleted this team right off the bat, and instead of digging in, they have fallen flat.
Don’t get me wrong, I did not expect the Tigers to put up a winning record. We aren’t talking about a normal run of injuries but instead over 20 players throughout the organization on the IL. But, I didn’t expect them to look lifeless.
Detroit has every reason to lose games but not in the way they have in May. At-bats have been difficult to watch, and the effort in the field is unacceptable. Basic fielding mechanics look more like a chore than something these players have done for 20 years. To put it in the most simple terms, the Tigers have been lazy.
Tuesday night was the perfect example. A runner on first scored on a grounder up the middle when center fielder Matt Vierling fielded the ball and tossed — on the run for no apparent reason — an intent-less ball to second arriving on multiple hops.
No thought of holding a runner, absorbing the situation, or even putting some juice on the throw. Just a hot potato tossed far too similar to a hand grenade landing on top of what has encapsulated this Tigers season.
What happened after? Nothing — the same punishment Wenceel Perez has been served for missing routine plays in the outfield all season.
I understand that this is not little league and issues of this nature are handled differently, but considering the Tigers’ slide, manager AJ Hinch has had plenty of opportunities to make an example of unacceptable play. He’s chosen not to.
I don’t have nearly the information or insight to say players aren’t trying. That would be unfair and driven off pure emotion only. But, at least least we’d feel emotion for a change.
We all know Skubal’s emption on the mound is contagious. You know the roar after strike three and how he has the crowd in the palm of his hand. Since his absence, the team’s emotion has run on empty. Kevin McGonigle has brought it at times, but you need more than a rookie to take charge of sending a jolt through the team.
A lackadaisical vibe has taken over this team. Yes, the injuries are the primary reason for failure, but they should have no impact on effort, focus, and accountability. Getting Skubal back should help provide much-needed energy, but even if the Tigers reclaim their identity, others need to step up.
More From the Core
Scott Harris made a statement on his roster decisions this offseason. Right or wrong, agree or disagree, his acquisitions of all pitchers and no hitters sent a message: the team’s pitching — and depth — was not up to par, but he trusted in the offense. An offense made up of mostly homegrown talent. An offense that had many players overperform in 2025 and are now falling short in 2026.
Gleyber Torres and Kerry Carpenter are the only players on the IL who were projected to be offensive drivers on this team. Javier Baez and Parker Meadows would have had a role, but expectations were relatively low.
The front office put faith in Riley Greene, Dillon Dingler, Spencer Torkelson, Colt Keith, Zach McKinstry, Vierling, McGonigle, and to a lesser extent Jahmai Jones and Perez. Of those nine names listed, only Greene, Dingler, McGonigle, and Torkelson have a wRC+ of 100 or better. And yes, 100 is only league average.
Torkelson and Keith were supposed to be top-half-of-the-lineup bats. Keith has been a slap hitter with no power, while Torkelson has been ice cold outside of a five-day stretch. No matter how you slice it, both have fallen well short of even fair and reasonable expectations.
The group of role players has failed to match what they brought last season. Jones is on the team for one reason and one reason only: to hit lefties. In 59 plate appearances, he’s posted a .647 OPS against southpaws.
McKinsrty was a big piece of the 2025 success but has fallen back to career norms. As much as we hate to admit it, his downward trend started with a .656 OPS in the second half of last season and has snowballed into a .460 OPS this year. Not just worse, but fallen off a cliff bad.
Then you have Perez, who started the year in Triple-A but has still managed to rack up a -1.0 fWAR. To be fair, Perez was not really supposed to be anything more than high-end organizational depth, but this level of play is even below the low standard he was held to.
Has this been a perfect storm and complete disaster recently? Absolutely. Are most of these players more talented than what they have shown. Yes. It’s time to prove it.
This is Not an Obituary, Yet
Emotions are one hell of a drug. Watching the Tigers over the past month has been nothing short of brutal. I will not sit here and gaslight you into thinking anything other than what you currently feel about this team, as that would feel unfair.
What I will say is there is time. At the time of writing this article, the Tigers have completed 56 games or 34.5% of their season. If you want to pack it up and call it a year, I won’t blame you. But I still want something to do the rest of the summer.
On May 28, 2025, the Tigers had the sole lead of first place in the American League. On May 28, 2026, the Tigers are tied for last place in the AL Central and are just a game out of last place in the American League.
The difference is in 2025 last place on May 28 was 12.5 games out of the wild card race. This season, the Tigers are only five games back in the wild-card race. Of the two teams in the final two wild-card spots — the White Sox and the Twins — Chicago is a game above .500, while Minnesota has a losing record.
All of this to say the American League has been a dumpster fire. A collection of mediocre to below-average teams that are not taking the opportunity to run away with it.
Detroit is starting to get back a couple of players. Melton and Mize have returned, and others are nearing. Have they shown us anything that leads us to believe they will turn it around? Far from it, but with over 100 games left, there’s a lot of opportunity to turn it around.
To me, it has to start from within. I’m not sure if that’s a message sent by Hinch, a players-only meeting, or any other display of leadership. Frankly, I don’t care who sends the message, but one needs to be sent.
June is their last chance of hope. If players want to avoid being traded off or demoted, now is the time to prove they are a different team than we have all labeled them as over the past month.
Let’s take a look at June. Because the Tigers had so many road games early this season, they are rewarded with 16 home games and only 11 away games. Well, the Tigers are 13-13 at home and only 8-21 on the road.
They start the month out with a road trip to the best team in the AL. That’s an opportunity right off the bat, even if that task feels too tall.
They also get the Twins and White Sox, who currently hold the last two wild-card spots. When a team is in last place, everyone on the calendar is above them, so obviously opportunity is there to cover some ground. If the Tigers get a couple of players back before the long home stretch in late June, there’s a non-zero chance they can still be alive.
Or, they don’t change their ways and we are once again discussing selling at the deadline and a failed season.
Discussing standings in late May feels like a waste of time, yet here we are. Grasping for any last signs of hope and reason to believe. I don’t know, maybe the luck we have seen each of the past two seasons should be reason enough.
Final Thoughts
You could say the next month is the most pivotal month in the Scott Harris era. You either fight back and see how the year plays out, or you’re forced to sell off some — not all — pieces. Any type of a sell-off would not only signal a failure of a year, but it also adds a new data point to judge your success as a GM.
If the Tigers continue to have what feels like scheduled lifeless nights, then bigger changes will be in question. I don’t want to get ahead of myself or call for people’s jobs, especially 55 games after a successful season, but that is the type of ammunition June holds.
106. That’s the amount of games left in the season. 67 days until the trade deadline. 33 days until the end of June. 0 days until we need to see a different effort.
Time will tell.
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