HOUSTON — If this were a year ago, Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal would be staying with Team USA and available to pitch in the potential World Baseball Classic championship game.
If this were next year, and Skubal was already signed to the richest pitching contract in baseball history, he wouldn’t have a second thought about staying around.
But this is 2026, and after two sleepless nights and emotional conversations with virtually every USA teammate, and heart-to-heart talks with agent Scott Boras and future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, Skubal stuck with his original plan.
He’s leaving Team USA on Tuesday to rejoin the Tigers in Lakeland, Florida and will return only as the biggest cheerleader if they advance to the semifinals and finals in Miami.
“Obviously, when I got here,’ he said, “my emotions kind of changed a little bit. My thought process changed a little bit. I tried to make it work, but just couldn’t.
“I hate it.’
When asked if he was at peace with the decision, he shook his head.
“No,’ he said, “I’m still not. The only way I’ll be at peace with it is in Miami after we win the whole [expletive] thing. It’s a tough decision, you know. It’s hard. It’s really hard. I’ve been trying to make it work.
“I love America. I love our country. I love everything that this tournament’s about.’
Simply, with a $400 million-plus payday awaiting him, along with the pitching schedule not lining up for him to start opening day for the Tigers, he couldn’t let his emotions overcome his judgement.
“I think the resounding message from all of the guys was, ‘Make sure to take care of yourself and your family,” Skubal said. ‘We support you no matter what happens.’ I appreciate that because these are the guys you want to go to war with. These guys grind. They care. I love it.
“The preparation has been unbelievable to watch and push myself to be a better version of myself, so that’s something that I’ll take for the rest of my life.’
Skubal also was provided plenty of research from Boras and his staff showing that arm injuries typically happen in spring training, and right after the All-Star break. The idea of risking an injury that could derail his massive payday was too great to ignore.
“A lot of that risk and injury stuff is kind of where I drew the line of like, ‘there’s a lot of risk associated in that,’’ Skubal said, “and then you put in the adrenaline … there’s just a big jump in workload.
“Just being smart. Obviously, I know what the season means, too.’
Team USA will now stick with its original plan of having NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes pitch in the semifinal game, with New York Mets’ second-year starter Nolan McLean pitching the potential championship game.
“We were always under the assumption that he was going to leave after pool play’’ USA manager Mark DeRosa said. “I know that kind of got clouded a little bit because getting on the mound in the USA jersey, being in the room with these guys, is special.’
DeRosa talked with Skubal for about 45 minutes during their workout Sunday, but his coaches and teammates wanted to give Skubal room to make up his own mind.
“I can’t be the reason they’re sitting in the room,’’ DeRosa said. “That’s just too much. I would be worried about every pitch he throws. I know what’s at stake for him. I’m over the moon he decided to show in the first place for us and take the ball for us. I think it meant a lot to a lot of guys in that room. We know where his heart is. If he was in a different situation, he wouldn’t be leaving.
“But I also understand that 99.9% of the guys, if given his ability to get to free agency and just generational wealth on the table, and everything he’s got in front of him, a chance to win three Cy Youngs in a row. … I was proud that he even showed for us.’
There wasn’t a single player on Team USA that voiced any disappointment that Skubal is departing as originally planned.
“Tarik’s awesome, awesome human being, awesome player, one of the best pitchers in the world,’ USA third baseman Alex Bregman said. “And we kind of all understand the situation that he’s in. Whatever decision he was going to make, we fully have his back.
“We were thankful that he even showed up to pitch a single inning for us. We know where his heart is. We know how tough a decision it is to make.’
Skubal, who spoke to the Tigers and USA officials who were all on board with the original plan of pitching once for about 50 pitches, but the plan became muddled once he started hanging around his teammates, putting on the USA jersey and taking the mound Saturday against Great Britain.
The experience was nothing like he possibly envisioned.
“It blew it out of the water,’ he said. “I had no idea. I just assumed it would be like an All-Star Game type of vibe, and it’s absolutely not. It couldn’t be further than that. …
“It was awesome. I loved it. It makes you really proud to be an American.’
Skubal realizes he can’t control the narrative for those upset or angry he’s leaving the team, but is comforted by his teammates’ support, knowing that if they were in his situation with that payday awaiting, most would be making the same decision.
“They understand how badly I want to keep competing and keep playing with this team,’ he said. “I respect everybody here and I respect everybody in Lakeland. I think that feeling is mutual. So it means a ton, you know.
“I really care about what my peers say, and the fact that my peers have my back, it means the world to me.’