{"id":589274,"date":"2026-02-24T01:12:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T01:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/589274\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T01:12:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T01:12:32","slug":"mlb-news-skubal-moreno-controversy-conforto-to-cubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/589274\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB News: Skubal, Moreno Controversy, Conforto to Cubs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Spring training is rolling on, though as the World Baseball Classic nears, we\u2019re getting more information about when some stars are headed to join their national squads, as well as what kind of role they could play when there.<\/p>\n<p>Keep reading to see that story, as well as some controversial comments by the owner of the Los Angeles Angels and a new home for a former Dodger.<\/p>\n<p>Tarik Skubal Will Only Start Once in WBC<\/p>\n<p>Back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal will be limited in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n<p>So limited, in fact, that he\u2019ll only start one game, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/mlb\/story\/_\/id\/48016401\/tigers-tarik-skubal-says-make-one-start-us-wbc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">reported by ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m trying to do both things \u2014 trying to pitch for Team USA, but I understand the need to be here with these guys [Tigers] and get ready for the season,\u201d Skubal said at spring training. \u201cI think it\u2019s kind of the best of both worlds in that aspect, and I\u2019m grateful they took me in that capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ESPN added that Skubal \u201chinted\u201d his start would come in pool play, which would mean a game against Brazil, Great Britain, Mexico or Italy in Houston between March 6 and 10.<\/p>\n<p>Arte Moreno Says Winning Isn\u2019t a Priority for Angels Fans<\/p>\n<p>The Angels have had 10 straight losing seasons, but if you ask owner Arte Moreno, that isn\u2019t the worst thing for some fans.<\/p>\n<p>Moreno told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/2026\/02\/20\/angels-owner-arte-moreno-tv-ordeal-hasnt-been-easy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register<\/a> that fans of his team are much more concerned about affordability, safety and the ballpark experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBelieve it or not, winning is not in their top five,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/2026\/02\/20\/angels-owner-arte-moreno-tv-ordeal-hasnt-been-easy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Moreno added<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Moreno did clarify that winning is his top priority.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me, I\u2019ve always wanted to win,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just what\u2019s the cost of winning right now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Conforto Part of Roundabout Swap With Cubs<\/p>\n<p>The departure of underperforming <a href=\"confortohttps:\/\/dodgersnation.com\/former-dodgers-outfielder-signs-with-cubs-in-kyle-tucker-swap\/2026\/02\/23\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Michael Conforto <\/a>opened up a spot for the Dodgers to land Kyle Tucker in free agency.<\/p>\n<p>Now, it appears Conforto is headed to Chicago for a chance to rejuvenate his career.<\/p>\n<p>Whether he\u2019ll be able to return to his pre-Dodgers form remains to be seen, but the Cubs will get getting a huge discount if he can.<\/p>\n<p>Conforto signed a $17 million deal with the Boys in Blue, but if he makes the Cubs\u2019 roster, he\u2019ll only be owed $2 million with performance bonuses.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sab-icon\" src=\"https:\/\/dodgersnation.com\/path\/to\/app-icon.png\" alt=\"App icon\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"\/><\/p>\n<p>LA Baseball Report<\/p>\n<p>Get the app for faster news<\/p>\n<p> <a id=\"sab-cta\" class=\"sab-cta\" href=\"#\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">GET<\/a> \u00d7  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spring training is rolling on, though as the World Baseball Classic nears, we\u2019re getting more information about when&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2390],"tags":[291,11478,5,1165,446,3223,774,56,3224,3222,111,4,382],"class_list":["post-589274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-angels","tag-angels","tag-arte-moreno","tag-baseball","tag-la","tag-la-angels","tag-laangels","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-angels","tag-losangeles","tag-losangelesangels","tag-michael-conforto","tag-mlb","tag-tarik-skubal"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116122953639746260","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}