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Tarik Skubal said his preference is to finish the season with the Detroit Tigers and compete for a championship, even though he knows his next start could be his last with the team.
“I think we have a chance to win the World Series,” Skubal said Thursday. “I’ve been saying that since spring training. It’s never changed. That belief in this team has never changed throughout the season. Obviously we put ourselves in a tough situation, but I think we’ve come out of that situation playing really good baseball.
“Going into spring training and the entire offseason, I’ve never been more motivated to try to win a World Series for this city, the team that drafted me and helped develop me. That’s always been the goal and it’s never going to change unless I’m told I’m on another team.”
The Tigers have until Aug. 3 to decide whether to keep Skubal, who could become a free agent after the World Series, or deal the two-time Cy Young Award winner in a blockbuster trade to perhaps bolster their future with players and prospects.
Skubal (6-5. 2.83 ERA) is scheduled to pitch against the Kansas City Royals on Friday night at Comerica Park and acknowledged it could be his last start for the Tigers.
“That may be the reality,” he said. “But also five days later there is another one at home.”
The 29-year-old righty underwent surgery on May 6 to remove a loose body from his pitching elbow and returned to action on June 13.
“The way the operation went is exactly how it was supposed to go,” Skubal said. “I don’t know if remarkable is the word I would use.”
Detroit was 22-38 at the start of June and has rallied well enough to be in the playoff picture as questions swirl about what the franchise will do with Skubal.
“There’s a lot of intrigue around him and the reason is he’s really good,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said.
Report from the Associated Press.
