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By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
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When Tarik Skubal was replaced in the middle of a 1-0 game in the fourth inning of Saturday night's World Baseball Classic tilt, we thought that was all we'd see of him for the tournament. Perhaps we thought wrong.
Skubal, the back-to-back Cy Young winner in the American League, was scheduled to make just one appearance for Team USA and throw no more than 55 pitches. That decision made sense, as the 29-year-old is entering a contract year with the Detroit Tigers and hopes to sign the richest free-agent contract ever for a pitcher in less than a year's time.
However, after feeling the atmosphere at Daikin Park and experiencing the emotions of pitching for his country for the first time, Skubal is actively rethinking whether or not to pitch again in the tournament. Let's run down where that decision stands as of Sunday.
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After the U.S.'s 9-1 win over Team Great Britain, Skubal revealed that he was rethinking his stance on pitching again in the tournament, and would have conversations with the Tigers, agent Scott Boras, and his family before making a decision within the next couple of days.
"This is gonna be one of the tougher decisions I've made in my career so far," Skubal said, per David Adler of MLB.com "It just changes your perspective a little bit, you know? And how proud I am to be an American and go out there and pitch and compete, (thinking about) the people that make real sacrifices for me to play a kids' game. So we'll see."
"I didn't expect these types of emotions to run through my brain, or my thoughts to differ. I was pretty committed to making a start and getting back to camp. Things have changed, obviously. That's why I'm gonna have some conversations and try to figure out a plan for me. But yeah, I don't know either way."
On Sunday, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch acknowledged that the situation was still up in the air, and
"I don't think anything's been determined," Hinch said, per Jason Beck of MLB.com. "I think he's incredibly emotional about the experience. It's a difficult time that weighs heavily on players because they want to do it all. I talked to him briefly and kind of let him talk through his emotions and let him talk through what's on his mind.
"We agreed to talk again as things settled down a little bit and he got a good night's sleep. He'll wake up and get a good work day in today. I don't know how it all ends, but I saw the interview and I saw the emotion and I know the human and I know that everything matters to him. He's in a tough spot to accomplish everything."
A lot of Tigers fans would love to see Skubal prioritize his health and return to Florida to ramp up for opening day. A lot of Team USA fans would love to see the lefty take the ball for the tournament championship, presumably against the likes of Japan's Shohei Ohtani or the Dominican Republic's Juan Soto.
For now, the power rests with Skubal, and until he reveals the results of his conversations, the baseball world has to wait with bated breath.
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