𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Maybe the quick turnaround helps soften the blow. It was the seventh inning in Saturday’s game when chatter from fans above the dugout suggested Tarik Skubal was getting traded. After the game, Tigers teammates hugged their ace and told him goodbye.

Nine hours later, the Tigers were back at the ballpark for a Sunday matinee, vying for a series sweep against the Athletics.

“There’s an element of this that’s a little cold,” manager A.J. Hinch. “You just got to get back to your routines and get back to playing.”

There was still plenty of reflection from the Tigers about their time with Skubal. None were as close with him as Casey Mize, another 2018 draft pick who was called up to the big leagues on the same day back in the 2020 COVID season. Mize was a No. 1 overall pick. He was there for every day of Skubal’s rise from ninth-round obscurity to best pitcher in the world.

“You could say that would be easier for me to strive for with the pedigree or whatever, whereas when guys are later-round draft picks it can be really easy for them to say, ‘Man, I want to be a big-leaguer,’” Mize said. “I don’t think that was ever going to be good enough for Tarik.”

Mize was among those who turned emotional talking about losing Skubal. But as Mize spoke, Kenley Jansen bellowed from an end locker: “Skubal is gone, You’re the topic now!”

Indeed, the Tigers are left in a strange position. They are only 2 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. They have a plus-52 run differential. They just traded their ace, and no one is certain whether they are going to keep selling.

“We know that we’re definitely not out of it,” first baseman Spencer Torkelson said. “Trading Skubal is just … You got to get a return for the best pitcher in the world when he’s going to be a free agent. It just makes sense from a business standpoint.”

If the Tigers continue selling, Mize, Jansen and Gleyber Torres are all candidates to be traded in the next two days.

“We still have a pretty good team,” Jansen said. “I don’t know what their mindset is, if they’re selling now or if it’s just only Skubal. I don’t know. I’m not going to let that drive me crazy, I can tell you that.”

The Tigers’ clubhouse dynamic has changed, and yet their season is not over.

“Ironically, we’re as close to the playoff race as we’ve been in recent months, and yet we know exactly what losing a guy like Tarik Skubal means to our clubhouse and our team,” Hinch said. “But the game moves on.”