‘It’s very tough’: Emotional Tarik Skubal discusses trade to Dodgers

The 29-year-old spent his entire big-league career in Detroit after being selected by the franchise in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB Draft — a stint that included two AL Cy Young awards, two all-star nods and trips to the post-season in 2024 and 2025.

So, it’s perhaps no surprise then that Skubal got emotional discussing the trade following Detroit’s win over the Athletics on Saturday.

“It’s very tough. Ever since that ’24 Game 5 (of the ALDS), the failure that I experienced on, I’ve used that as fuel to try and bring a World Series to the city of Detroit,” Skubal said. “That whole off-season, I’ve never been more motivated, and you go back and we lose Game 5 again. That failure sparked some more motivation to just dig deeper and see how good you can truly be.

“The goal was always to win a World Series for the city, for the organization that actually took a chance on me.”

In both of Skubal’s trips to October with the Tigers, he took the ball in a win-or-go-home Game 5 in the ALDS with a chance to punch Detroit’s ticket to the ALCS for the first time since 2013.

But on both occasions, the Tigers came up short. In 2024, Skubal left the game after allowing a pivotal grand slam against the Cleveland Guardians, and in 2025, he surrendered just one run while striking out 13 over six innings, but Detroit went on to lose in 15 innings.

“I love all those guys in there. They’re some of my best friends,” a visibly emotional Skubal said of his Tigers teammates.

He’ll likely get his shot at post-season redemption this fall as he joins the NL-West-leading Dodgers, something he said he’s looking forward to, despite the raw reaction to having been traded for the first time in his career.

“I’m excited to be a Dodger,” he said. “I’m excited to get down there and meet all those guys, chase three championships in a row. It’s hard to do, so I’m excited to be a part of that.

“But it’s a lot of different emotions. Definitely a roller-coaster.”