Tarik Skubal Talks Trade Rumors, Playoff Battles, & His Cy Young Repeat

Tarik Skubal Talks Trade Rumors, Playoff Battles, & His Cy Young Repeat

you had a little uh interaction with with a fan the other day rocking I think it was a white Yankee hat if I recall. You remember that video the guy came up to you asking you to sign it we’re showing right now. I’m curious. I’m you know as a Yankee guy I’m curious why you just wouldn’t just sign it. Isn’t that Isn’t that something just to sign or Yeah. I don’t know if I I’m not signing any hat that’s not a Detroit hat, you know, or something, right? It just so happened to be that was a Yankee hat. I’m like, “Dude, you got nothing else on you that you don’t have a baseball. You’re going to have me.” It just I don’t know. It’s uh it was a funny interaction, too. I mean, that guy took it while it’s all fun and fun and joy and stuff like that. And you can see all these fans, they want you to come to their team and you hear all these rumors and speculations going on and it it’s got to be hard. You know, you’re a really good pitcher, but at the same time, you know, it every other day it seemed like there’s a trade talk about you going somewhere else. Man, it’s got to play a little bit in your mind about this whole scenario. Yeah, no doubt. I think with the way social media is, it’s hard not to see things about yourself, especially when it’s talking about trades and kind of um all those hypotheticals. But, you know, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. It’s not going to impact who I am dayto-day basis. it’s not going to impact, you know, the way I’m going to work out or the way I’m going to throw or prepare to um get my body ready to go for another season. Um so it’s it’s all out of my control. You see it um I think as a player you don’t really like I mean unless you want to be traded, but like that’s a whole different situation. But it’s not like I want to be traded. So it is it does kind of like you know hey why am I in this um why am I in these conversations to begin with? But, um, at the end of the day, it doesn’t it doesn’t really impact anything that I’m going to do daytoday and and, um, I try to just stay off of it and not look at it. I mean, that’s kind of how I’ve handled it at the trade deadlines in years past and and it it seems to work for me. Who does it bother the most? Because like I’m sure there’s family that they read it and I I remember telling and I know Todd said it like family stay off of Twitter, stay off of the comments, all that stuff. Who has the toughest time with it? your wife, family, like and do you have to tell them don’t talk to me about it. I just saw it on Twitter. I can’t even go on Twitter without, you know, seeing anything about it. Yeah. I think I think my wife gets it. I think that she’s pretty good about it. Um I think it’s probably like my mom and my dad like, “Hey, where are you going to play next year?” It’s like, I’m a I’m a Tiger. That’s kind of how I You guys will find out the same time I find out if I’m getting actually traded. So, um I’m like, don’t look into any of the stuff that you see. Um, definitely don’t comment. Don’t don’t take to social media and say anything. Please don’t make it a story out of nothing. So, um, it’s probably my family more so than me. Um, but my wife gets it. You know, my wife gets it. She’s, you know, there’s not a ton of fact or truth behind any of these things, especially really know where they come up with these numbers or um, that narrative. They create these narratives. It’s I mean it it’s part of the the media job though. I get it. I mean I get it. Um but um if you’re you know in my circle, you know that that’s kind of how we handle things or or how I’m going to handle things. Hey, it’s content and you know the next thing that pops up. It runs wild. People love to follow it and it’s annoying of course for you to be part of it because it involves your name, but for everyone else it’s like it it keeps baseball at the forefront, you know? Hey, we’re on two hours a day. You know, I get it. That’s what I’m saying. It’s it’s the media’s job to create narratives and uh to create content for for baseball. I get it. I’m not going to sit here and complain, but um it’s just not there’s not a ton. I I get it. At the end of the day, I get it. It’s it’s the job of the game and um yeah, I’m completely on board with it. All right. So, let me ask you a question about another pitcher in the bigs who actually just got traded because I did bring up your name the other day. It’s not like the very beginning of your career was perfection. We’ve gone over that, right? You weren’t a top draft pick. You dealt with some injuries earlier in your career. Now, look at you. So, we’ve been backing up a guy like Grayson Rodriguez who gets traded from the Orioles. He’s 26 years old. You’ve seen him pitch in his stuff. We haven’t seen him a ton yet, right? He’s given us two seasons like 120ish innings each and then he missed this past season. We have him on the show tomorrow. He’s got a big personality too. What would your advice be to someone like that and also for fans to understand, you know, how it can sometimes take some time to figure out things and and also just figure out your body for someone like Grayson who said he had been dealing with I think it was some type of debris or chips or something he just got cleaned up and it had been a problem for three, four years. Yeah. I mean, I think his stuff is definitely I mean, it’s as good as it gets in this game, right? There’s not, you know, it’s 96 to 100. It’s it’s a good change up. It’s a good slider. I think he’s got a bigger breaking ball, too. He might even have two different versions of the heater. Um, but I mean, my advice is just figure out a routine for him that works to keep him on the field, you know, and that’s that’s what changed my career was, um, you know, I I had a rough start to my career. I pitched. I was healthy um until 2022. I pitched, but I just wasn’t really like my routine wasn’t really me, I guess. Um I felt like I was a little too run down on every day I pitched or, you know, I was probably worried about a lot of the wrong things or, you know, I I might have worked too hard, you know, to where your body’s kind of always in the red. You never feel like ready to go or you feel tired earlier in games than you should be. So, um, that’s something that when I got hurt, um, came back, rehab, my routine, I kind of changed a lot of things and and changed when I work out, changed, you know, how I throw, throwing programs, all that stuff, pio ball stuff, and, you know, tinkered with things through that process of when I those 11 months were huge for me. And, um, established a really good routine. and and now that I’ve been on the field the last two and a half years, I mean, um, you can argue that like it’s been the most productive pitcher in baseball the last two and a half seasons coming back from injury. So, um, I think this the routine matters a ton. you know, figuring out your body matters a ton and and hopefully, you know, the the bone spur stuff that he’s dealing with right now is is a quick fix and you can kind of hammer back um your routine and get back to feeling normal and healthy and and when he’s healthy and pitching, I I think his stuff is plenty fine. So, um you know, he’s going to be a good pitcher in this game, uh you know, when he’s on the field. And I think that’s what matters. At least that would be my advice is figure out what works for you treatment wise, routine-wise, nutrition wise and and uh just play the game because when you’re out there on the mound that the stuff is as good as it gets in the big leagues. You won a sai young again obviously congratulations. But is it tiring? Because I heard Ryan Howard talked about Ryan Howard won the MVP and he goes, “Dude, you get invited to every Tom, Dick, and Harry’s like event like, hey, come on, come and speak here.” And then you still got the regular ones. You still got, you know, when you were going to see at the BBWA, we still got, you know, you were just at the Mo Awards. Does it get tiring or now that it’s your second year, you’re like, I know which ones to do and which ones not to? Yeah. I think what happened was I mean you go to Vegas uh you win the Sai Young Wednesday and go out to eat and more extracurricular stuff right and you wake up the next day in kind of tough shape and then you have the MLB award show and then you go out after that and enjoy that night and then um one of my buddies bachelor party was back in Scottsdale Friday and Saturday so it was like four days of um a lot of fun, but at the same time, you kind of pay for it on the back end, you know, especially like that Monday that came around. I was hurt and then I went up to Portland to do some stuff with Nike and just got back yesterday and I’m like, hey, I’m I’m good for a little bit. You know, it just so happens to be my birthday today. But it’s like I’m I’ve done enough celebrating the last week to where I don’t need to celebrate a birthday. Hey, let me ask you this. Out in Shadow Creek, bro. How cool how cool was that first off? And how did you hit him second off, man? Because I I struggled. I did good on one front nine, did bad on back. I I was back and forth with it. You couldn’t use your driver. That’s my problem. Yeah, I think I mean I don’t that course is beautiful. Like it’s I mean it’s it’s the nicest. I don’t know if golf gets much nicer than that course, right? Like I mean agree. Um, I’m sure there can be some like elevated tea boxes to make it maybe look, you know, more beautiful, but in terms of just nice golf, like that course has got to be up there or hold its own with every other course in the world. Like, I just that’s just my opinion on it. But it’s tight and it’s it’s kind of target golf and the greens are quick. So, if you spray it like I do, it’s not very conducive to uh my style of play. Me too. Me, too. Hey TK, I want to ask you about the Sai Young Awards. So leading up to the announcement, did you kind of feel like you had it in the bag or like genuinely did you feel like all right, I I looked at the other numbers, other colleagues in the sport that had great years, but I feel like I’ve got this or or were you really sitting there like I don’t know. Yeah, I think I mean I I knew I had a good year obviously. Um Crochet had a hell of a year too. I mean, that’s kind of who I thought the race was between was was us two. And you can make an argument either way. So, it’s not like I I knew I had it in the bag, but I I kind of figured I was going to win. Um, you know, when the regular season ended, I was like, “Okay, I think I just accomplished my second um Sai Young award.” But, I mean, Crochet what, he had a hell of a season. I mean you what he was able to accomplish in Boston in Fenway uh they just traded for him, extended him, kind of made him the face of that rotation and and kind of the face of the team too. Um what he was able to do is nothing short of of very impressive and he’s going to you know what we have in this battle I think for the next however many years we’re doing it and on the field. So um he’s he’s a great great player. He’s got some of my favorite stuff. I bet he has the best stuff in the big leagues. pure stuff um side. But um yeah, he’s a he’s a great player. That was actually what I was going to ask you because big league players, now I was never at your level, but we’re always looking at other big league players like, “Man, I wish I could, you know, have that swing path.” Is there something that you look at Crochet and you’re like, “Man, I wish I had this of his.” Yeah. His like slider sweeper thing. I don’t know what I don’t know what he calls it, but it’s like the it’s that 84 to 86 mph slider that’s got a ton of depth and a ton of uh glove side movement. Um that’d be the easiest pitch for me to add into my arsenal. You know, I I don’t have a pitch that does that. And my slider is hard. It’s, you know, anywhere from 90 to 92 if I had a breaking ball at 84 to 86. Um lefties, I think, I mean that with that weapon to lefties, you can’t even put a lefty in the lineup against Crochet. you really can’t with the way he throws a fast ball and and a slider. Um but yeah, I mean our fast balls are pretty similar. Um I actually love his change up. He doesn’t throw it a ton. Um but I love his change up and the reason he doesn’t throw his change up is because he has a really good slider. So um and he’s got a cutter, too. He kind of has a cutter that plays like my slider and then he’s got the good breaking ball. So I mean that’s the one that I would I would add for sure is is that like if he wants to call it a sweeper, you call it a sweeper. It’s kind of like that hard slurve. It’s it’s really really good. Talking about pitch selection and throwing pitches, it seemed like this year you significantly went to the fast ball and change up against lefties. Was there a cognizant effort of doing that or is that just a feel kind of thing? It was like, ah, well, it’s I’m feeling this today. I’m going to throw that. But it just seemed like a little bit more this year. It worked well. Yeah. I think, you know, in years past, there’s always stuff you look at at end of seasons and um stuff you want to, you know, get better at. And for me, lefties striking out lefties, it it’s gonna sound weird, but I I don’t strike out lefties at the same rate I strike out righties. Like I just I punch out righties more. And that’s because I throw my change up more to righties. So, um, we, you know, I sat down with the team, our pitching coach, catchers and stuff, and develop a plan to get lefties to punch out when I need them to, cuz they weren’t slugging, and there wasn’t a ton of damage, but there’s a lot of ground balls, and in certain situations, you can’t have a ground ball. you know, with a runner at third base and less than two outs, you have to be able to strike guys out. So, as easy as it is to go sinker slider to lefties and just kind of get to the next hitter, um there’s certain scenarios where, you know, Bellinger’s in the box and he’s a guy that doesn’t punch against lefties, but I got to figure out how to punch belly uh with a runner on third, and that was kind of upping, forcing him, and change up usage. I think that that’s that’s kind of that’s what I get missed to righties, and that’s what I get missed to lefties. But it’s hard not to fall in love with sinker slider when you know there’s no damage and all they do is hit it into the ground. Um, so like the worst thing that can happen is a single or maybe a down the line double or something like that. Um, but you do need to be able to punch out left-handed bats and that’s kind of where the change up the uptake and change up usage was was I’m comfortable throwing it to lefties. Um, and they miss it and it and it kind of plays up. So that’s why I kind of leaned on that pitch a little more this year. I have so many questions for you watching your games in the playoffs like different stuff from the playoffs. Like I haven’t seen anybody on the losing team that’s dominated as much as you have. I I mean I’m not saying that in any other way than a compliment. Like when your team wins the World Series, it will be because you and your team have won the whole way because you just have carried the Tigers the last two years. So I want to congratulate you for that. But I want to go directly to game five. Tell me if I’m wrong, but I think you went six innings with 13 punches and gave up one run. Yeah, I won. Was it tough to sit there then for nine more innings and watch this team? Were you like were you trying to like move your shoulder around like guys another inning? Like like do you do you go back and do you think not secondguing but do you think man if I had 10 strikeouts but gone eight innings would that have helped? you know, what’s your mindset in that moment, but also thinking about that game afterwards and since? Yeah, that game was I mean it was uh it was one of the greatest games in postseason history really in a winner go home game five game seven type scenario. Um obviously we know runs are at a premium um especially in in a game five game especially against the Mariners. So, I’m trying to do what I can to keep our team in it and and just and limit runs. The run that I gave up was a frustrating run cuz it was like a kind of like a flare down the left field line double. And Josh Naylor being the guy that he is, he’s I mean, he’s a great baseball player. He knows it’s loud. Steals third and the next one’s F8 and we’re down one zero um in like the fourth inning or so. So, I’m just trying to keep the game where it’s at. Um, and however I get outs, I get outs. Obviously, the strikeout was, you know, that my stuff was good that day. So, the pitch count’s going to get up, you know, kind of regardless of what I was trying to do. That’s and in the postseason, like you can’t really pitch. I mean, you’re pitching to contact, but at any point guys are going to jump you and that could be the difference in the game, you know, just cuz every run is is magnified, every out is magnified. So, um, just trying to keep the game where it is. And obviously, I think the strikeout was that. I mean, if you look at game one against Cleveland, I also think I struck out 14, but I was able to pitch in the eighth just because they were really efficient strikeouts. Um, and I mean, the Mariners are a good team. They slug. They They really do slug. They had, you know, top five guys with 20 plus bombs, two with 50 plus. It’s like that. I mean, any at any point they can run the ball out of the yard. Um, so just knowing the lineup, knowing the game, knowing the situation, knowing runs are at a premium. um you just try to grind as as best you can and and every out it’s it’s even more draining than a regular season out. You know, one out in the postseason feels like an inning in the regular season just based on um how meaningful all the game is. But yeah, I mean later later into that game, it’s like the 11th inning. I’d kind of come down from the adrenaline and stuff and I’m in the dugout and I’m like I wonder if they’d let me reenter this game or if there’s some rule changes that we could uh to to use just cuz it’s been like I mean this game was so long. There’s two seventh inning stretches um during the game. It was I mean it was a ton of fun. Obviously we come out on the wrong side of it but um just watching that game and and living that game it was it was almost worse. It was worse just watching it than playing in it, you know, just because you have no say or any control of what’s going on out there. All right, because you brought that up, I’m gonna jump ahead to my other question and get back to the Guardians question. My question is, did you watch the World Series? Yeah. Yeah. Did you see what Yamamoto did and could you have done that? Yeah. I mean, that’s what he did. Um, I mean, not only like just throwing backto-back days, but also the performance he was like the performance and the outings that he strung together were incredible all postseason long. you know, without that guy, I don’t they they don’t win the World Series, you know, and um I would love to sit here and say I’d be ready to go, you know, game one against Cleveland and game three. Um I was ready to go game three, you know, I was like, “Hey, I’m I’m good to pitch if we need it.” Um but back to back, I mean, in that situation, you put me in his shoes. I’m going to I’m going to argue as best I can to be out there and and be thrown in that situation for sure. Um whether those decisions are made. Um you know, you got to look out for the health of players, too. Um I don’t know. I would love to be in that situation, though, and and I know I would do everything I could to petition my way into the game. Um they I mean, they needed them. Obviously, the game goes into extras and stuff, but um I can’t see myself sitting on the side and and not at least giving it a go. I don’t know. The impressive part was it wasn’t just back to back. His stuff was as good as it was the day before, you know, and I’m like, I if I throw 100 pitches the next day, I don’t know if I’m going to be 97 to 100, you know? I could get out there and maybe throw 92 94, but he was 95 to 98 coming out 95 to 98 with the splitter. That’s great. Um, yeah. I mean, that was incredibly impressive. I would love to to be in that situation to to uh petition to be able to go out there and pitch um and just see what happens. You’re in that in that role, man. It game seven, uh, you got nothing to lose. Just give it you got. Yeah, for sure. You got a bunch of you got a bunch of, uh, bachelor parties and golf outings to do in the offseason. That’s the only thing you got to do. put some put some ice on it and keep going. All right, I’ll I’ll take you back to the Cleveland game and because AJ’s not on here, I’m sure he would ask you the flip between the legs. Was the fact that you flipped it between the legs and it became an error which led to another dribbler which led to another dribbler. What was more distracting to come back from the fact that they weren’t hitting you but they were still scoring runs or the fact that you made that play and you were like you even how I don’t know if you have a huge glove or what it is but you always hold your glove one certain way and you were like ah what was I doing like how did you recoup how did you regroup after that play in such a big moment? Yeah, I think I mean that whole inning was very uh not not one ball was hit to the infield dirt um which was incredible and they scored two runs which is insane too. Um it’s just the game of baseball. That’s just you know that’s baseball. Um but I mean that play you’re just trying to get an out, you know, any way you can. Um, and they end up throwing I think they tried to bunt four times in a row, four at bats in a row that in um and obviously fry situation happens that inning too. Um, and that was probably the most uh I don’t know if like rattling experience, but just like you don’t even feel like you’re playing the game anymore. It’s like you get when when you see something happen like that live and especially when you feel responsible for it, it it makes the game not as much about playing baseball, but it kind of humanizes it in a way to where it’s like, hey, is this guy going to be okay like in life, not just the game of baseball, is he actually going to be okay? And I think that was probably the toughest part of that inning was just like I have no idea what’s going on with him. He gives the thumbs up, but like is he really okay? Especially when you talk about like that part of the face. Like I mean you’re talking about if it hits him somewhere different like it he could go blind in one eye and now all of a sudden his career is over and I have to live with that the rest of my life. So um that that was one of those situations that was pretty tough for me as far as between the legs. I mean I’ve tried it twice and it hasn’t worked twice. And when you’re out there competing you’re like hey don’t do that again but I I might do it again. And AJ’s not going to be a fan of that. He’s like hey cuz I did it in Miami. He’s like hey never do that again. And I was like, “Yeah, no, like no doubt. If it worked, it it would have worked. If it doesn’t, I’m not going to do that again.” And then you get in that situation and you do it again. So, um, yeah, I I’ve always, you know, I was talking to Torque. I’m like, “Dude, third time’s a charm. It’s got to work one of these times.” So, um, yeah, I mean, you’re just trying to make an out, but that whole inning was, uh, was was wild for

Detroit Tigers pitcher and two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal joins the show to discuss the viral Yankees-hat moment, how he deals with constant trade speculation, and the realities of navigating social media during the offseason. Skubal breaks down his battles with the Cleveland Guardians and Seattle Mariners in the postseason, offers perspective on pitchers like Grayson Rodriguez working through injuries and routines, and reacts to Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s historic World Series performance with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also talks award-season chaos, offseason golf trips, and the evolution of his pitch mix.

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