00:01Monday's news that two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Tarek Skubal will undergo
00:05surgery to remove loose bodies in his pitching elbow left all of us with plenty of questions.
00:10The initial breaking story covered the basics, but now it's time to dig deeper.
00:14For Tigers fans trying to make sense of what this means for the ace, the rotation, and
00:19the season ahead, here's a closer look at the situation.
00:22How long has this been bothering Skubal?
00:25The first real hint that something wasn't right came last Wednesday in Atlanta.
00:30Late in that start, Skubal shook out his left arm after a pitch and called catcher Dylan
00:35Dingler to the mound, which brought manager A.J. Hinch and the training staff out to check
00:39on him.
00:40He stayed in the game and struck out the side in his final inning, firing multiple fastballs
00:46at 97 MPH or better.
00:48The issue flared up again on Sunday, and by that point, the Tigers were already putting
00:53contingency plans in place, scratching Ty Madden from his scheduled start for AAA Toledo just
00:59in case.
01:00But as Skubal explained on Monday, the problem goes back much further than those two outings.
01:05This is something that I've been dealing with all season, he said.
01:09It's good to get an answer, honestly.
01:12What exactly are loose bodies in an elbow?
01:14Typically, they're bone spurs, bone chips, or small fragments of cartilage that break away
01:19from the bones around the elbow joint.
01:22Often, they're just part of the normal wear and tear that comes with pitching.
01:26Other times, they can signal an injury.
01:28These particles can float around the elbow undetected for years and only become an issue
01:32when they lodge in a spot that interferes with how the joint functions.
01:35That explains why Skubal can have occasional flare-ups that come and go.
01:39But if a loose body ends up in the wrong place, it can turn into a major problem that has
01:43to
01:43be addressed surgically.
01:45How long will Skubal be out?
01:46Neither the Tigers nor Skubal are putting a timetable on his return right now, and there's
01:51a good reason for that.
01:52The surgery hasn't been scheduled yet, so they don't know exactly what the doctors will
01:56find or whether there's an underlying condition that caused the loose bodies to form.
02:00A typical recovery window for this type of procedure is two to three months.
02:04To give you a recent comparison, Dodger's closer.
02:08Edwin Diaz had a similar surgery a couple of weeks ago and is expected back in July or
02:13August.
02:13It's anybody's guess right now until he actually has the surgery, Hinch said.
02:18We've got to talk to the doctor, have the surgery, and form a plan of rehab.
02:23So a lot has to happen before we race to the return.
02:26I think it's a relatively simple procedure.
02:28If you can call any type of surgical intervention simple, how can the Tigers replace their ace?
02:33Colleague Mark Feinsand tackled this well on Monday night, looking at both internal fill-in
02:38options and potential trade candidates as the summer approaches.
02:41The trade angle of course depends on whether the Tigers can stay in contention without Skubal.
02:45For now, Madden slots directly into the rotation.
02:49He handled bulk innings on Monday, but the club will still need another starter or a bullpen
02:53game to cover Casey Mize's spot, as Mize will miss at least one more turn while working
02:58back from a hamstring injury.
03:00Drew Anderson could become an important part of the stopgap solution.
03:04The Tigers signed him in December specifically as a starting rotation option.
03:08Looking further down the road, the plan to stretch out Troy Melton as a starter during
03:12his rehab assignment takes on even greater significance.
03:15Melton threw one and two-thirds innings and 31 pitches on Sunday in his first rehab start
03:20for single-A Lakeland.
03:22He'll require a few more outings to build up his workload since he never got to pitch in
03:26spring training, but he should be ready by the end of the month, and don't forget about
03:29Justin Verlander.
03:30His recovery from left hip inflammation has been slow, but he's progressing to the point
03:35where he's expected to face hitters soon.
03:37He'll need a rehab start before the Tigers slot him back into the rotation, yet things
03:41are moving well enough to believe he could return sometime this month.
03:45Jackson Jobe is on track to come back from Tommy John surgery sometime after the All-Star break.
03:51By then, the Tigers should have a much clearer picture of when Scoobal will return and how
03:56he fits into a potential stretch run.
03:58What does this mean for Scoobal's free agency?
04:01Players on the major league injured list continue to accrue service time, so Scoobal is still
04:05on track to become a free agent at the end of the season.
04:08What the surgery means for his market remains to be seen and could depend heavily on how he
04:13pitches once he returns.
04:14It might also hinge on what Scoobal prioritizes in his next contract, whether a long-term deal becomes
04:21even more important to him, or if a short-term arrangement comes into play, giving him the
04:25chance to hit the market again after a full, healthy season.
04:30This is just the latest reminder of how difficult it is to predict free agency, especially for
04:35pitchers.
04:36Feinsand wrote about that angle as well, with valuable insight from major league executives
04:41and evaluators.
04:42Have the Tigers dealt with more injuries than usual?
04:45Yes, even before Scoobal's injury, that was already the case.
04:49According to Rotowire.com, which tracks injured lists across organizations, there were 32 players
04:56in the Tigers' system on major and minor league injured lists, a number that now climbs to a major
05:03league leading 33 with the addition of Scoobal.
05:06That figure includes 13 players on the 60-day injured list as of Monday, which tied for the
05:11most in the majors.
05:13You're essentially looking at a full-team roster and then some.
05:16It's a staggering total, but it also means the Tigers have grown accustomed to plugging
05:20holes.
05:21We've won before with multiple people doing different things, Hinch said.
05:26You've watched this with Parker, Meadows.
05:29You've watched it with Zach McKinstry and Javi Baez and Will Vest.
05:34I mean, I can name 14 guys who are on the injured list right now.
05:39So, a team takes that body blow or that uppercut, that punch, and it hits you for a minute, and
05:45then you've got to get back to competing.
05:47We have to take that mentality to overcome this injury in particular, but also the ones
05:52before that.
05:53It's a big test, no doubt.
05:55You can't deny that it's a big blow, but we're not going to cancel the season.
05:58We're going to play the games.
06:00So now you know where things stand with Scoobal, the rotation, and a club that refuses to use
06:06injuries as an excuse, what do you think, can a patchwork staff and a next man up mentality
06:11keep this team in the race until the ace returns, or will the loss of Scoobal prove too much to
06:16overcome?
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