Tarik Skubal Gets Emotional Discussing Trade to Dodgers

Tarik Skubal knew what the phone call meant before anyone needed to explain it.

The Detroit Tigers ace had stepped away from the dugout during Saturday night’s game against the Athletics, something he had also done the previous evening to escape the heat and keep moving. This time, he never returned for the final innings.

“I got a phone call,” Skubal said via the Detroit News. “And I knew what that was about.”

Just like that, his seven-season run with the Tigers was over.

Detroit traded the reigning two-time American League Cy Young Award winner to the Los Angeles Dodgers for right-hander River Ryan, outfielder Zyhir Hope and pitching prospect Brady Smith.

Skubal had spent months answering questions about his future. When the answer finally arrived, he was forced to process the end of the only major-league chapter he had ever known.

Skubal Did Not Expect His Tigers Career to End This Way

Skubal entered the 2026 season hoping to lead Detroit back to October and finish the job the Tigers had fallen short of completing during the previous two postseason runs.

A trade was never part of that vision.

“Going into the season, this isn’t what I planned on doing,” Skubal said. “But circumstances change, situations change.”

That is the cold reality of deadline baseball.

The Tigers slipped far enough in the standings for Scott Harris to begin listening. Skubal’s pending free agency, massive trade value and status as one of baseball’s best pitchers created an opportunity Detroit decided it could not ignore.

Skubal understood the business behind the decision. His emotions were tied to everything the transaction was taking away.

Skubal Thanks the Organization That Believed in Him

Detroit selected Skubal in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Seattle University.

He was not treated like a future franchise ace on draft night. He became one through years of development, failure, injury, adjustment and persistence.

“I’m very appreciative of everything the Tigers have done for me,” Skubal said. “Just drafting me in 2018, giving a kid a chance out of a small school. Giving me the resources to use. Everything has been at my disposal. Whatever I wanted, they always had an answer. They always had a plan for me.”

Skubal’s road was rarely smooth.

His early major-league seasons included command problems, home runs and difficult stretches that could have shaken Detroit’s belief in him. The Tigers continued giving him the ball.

Skubal never forgot it.

“I feel like I experienced a lot,” he said. “I went through the ups and downs and gone through a lot of failure early in my career. And the club never stopped believing in me. They kept me running me out there every fifth day when I probably didn’t deserve to be. I’ll never take that for granted, just the way the fans supported me and my family, too.

“It meant a lot to me.”

Leaving Detroit With Unfinished Business Hurts

Skubal leaves the Tigers with an impressive personal résumé.

He won two Cy Young Awards, became one of baseball’s most dominant starters and recorded his 1,000th career strikeout in his final appearance for Detroit.

The achievement Skubal wanted most never arrived.

“And that’s very tough,” he said. “All offseason, ever since the 2024 Game 5 and the failure that I experienced on the mound. I used that as fuel to try to bring a World Series to the city of Detroit. I truly did.”

Skubal was referring to Detroit’s decisive playoff loss to Cleveland in 2024, when Lane Thomas hit a grand slam that flipped Game 5 of the American League Division Series.

The Tigers returned to that stage the following season and again came up short.

“Then we lost Game 5 again (last year) and that failure sparked even more motivation just to dig deeper and see how good you can truly be,” Skubal said. “The goal was always to win a World Series for this city and this organization that took a chance on me. It’s really tough. I love all these guys. They are some of my best friends.”

That was the moment the emotion broke through.

Skubal could talk about roster construction, free agency and changing circumstances. Saying goodbye to close friends was different.

Skubal’s Connection With Tigers Fans Will Last

Detroit fans watched Skubal grow from an intriguing young left-hander into the best pitcher in the American League.

They supported him during the difficult seasons. They welcomed him back from elbow surgery. They stood for him when he reached 1,000 strikeouts and again when he walked off the Comerica Park mound for what became his final home appearance as a Tiger.

Skubal made it clear that support mattered to him and his family.

His Detroit career ends with a 61-42 record, a 3.04 ERA and 1,000 strikeouts across 153 appearances. Those numbers tell only part of the story.

The larger legacy is that Skubal became the pitcher Detroit once hoped he could be, then exceeded nearly every expectation placed on him.

A New Opportunity Awaits With the Dodgers

Once Skubal collected himself, he turned his attention toward Los Angeles.

The Dodgers are chasing a third consecutive World Series championship. Skubal now joins a roster built around October baseball, enormous expectations and a clear championship mandate.

“I am excited to be a Dodger,” Skubal said. “Excited to get down there and meet those guys. A chance to win three championships in a row. I am excited to be a part of that.”

That excitement does not erase the pain of leaving Detroit.

Both emotions can exist at the same time.

Skubal is leaving behind the organization that drafted him, the teammates who became close friends and the fan base that embraced his rise. He is also joining a team capable of giving him the championship opportunity he spent years chasing with the Tigers.

Bottom Line

Tarik Skubal’s final comments as a Tiger were filled with gratitude, disappointment and genuine emotion.

He thanked Detroit for believing in him before he became an ace. He acknowledged how badly he wanted to bring a World Series championship to the city. He struggled to discuss leaving teammates he considers some of his closest friends.

Skubal never planned to leave Detroit this way.

Now he heads to Los Angeles with a chance to chase the championship that remained unfinished in a Tigers uniform.

His time in Detroit is over, but what he built here will not be forgotten.