Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Tigers have collapsed to a 4-20 record since their star pitcher went down with an elbow injury.
- Multiple high-profile additions have underperformed dramatically, failing to fill the void left by the injured ace.
- The front office's failure to address clear offensive weaknesses now threatens the entire season's trajectory.
When Tarik Skubal suffered his elbow injury, the Detroit Tigers were 18-18. They are now 22-38 after getting swept by the Chicago White Sox this weekend. Yes, this team has gone 4-20 since losing its best pitcher.
While he's expected to return much sooner than previously anticipated, the Tigers continue to prove they're incapable of winning games without the back-to-back Cy Young winner. And while I hate to declare anyone's season as over in May, it's hard to believe the Tigers' season is anything but cooked.
Assuming the front office agrees, Skubal, a free agent after the year, will almost certainly be traded at the deadline — an outcome Scott Harris tried desperately to avoid over the winter. While virtually everyone other than Skubal deserves blame for this season completely unraveling, these individuals in particular stick out.
LHP Framber Valdez
The Tigers signed Framber Valdez to be the 1B to Skubal's 1A. The Robin to Skubal's Batman, if you will. Instead, he's been nothing short of a massive disappointment, posting a 4.39 ERA in 12 starts thus far.
While Valdez has had his share of good starts, he's allowed four or more runs four times, and he's given up as many as 10 runs (albeit just seven earned) in an outing. To top off the inconsistency, Valdez put his team in a horrific spot when he intentionally threw at Trevor Story, resulting in a suspension. Valdez has a 5.93 ERA in five starts since Skubal landed on the IL, and the Tigers have gone 0-5 in those starts. That about sums up his experience in Detroit thus far.
1B Spencer Torkelson
Spencer Torkelson's numbers, relative to his teammates, don't look that bad, as he has a .720 OPS and is even second on the team in home runs. The problem is that most of Torkelson's damage came in one week, as he hit homers in five straight days in late April. Since then, Torkelson has hit under .200 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 31 games. That's not the kind of production the Tigers are looking for from a guy who hit 31 bombs in 2025.
Power hitters like Torkelson can be streaky at times, but the Tigers need a whole lot more from him than what they've gotten. He's played a major role in their offensive struggles.
RHP Jack Flaherty
Jack Flaherty was coming off a down year, but there was still reason to believe he'd be a viable mid-rotation starter for Detroit. He's been anything but that thus far, as his 5.81 ERA in 12 starts would indicate. Flaherty has an 0-7 record, and the Tigers have gone just 2-10 when he's taken the mound this season.
Flaherty has completed six innings only twice this season, while failing to complete five innings seven times. Allowing runs is one thing, but an inability to give any sort of consistent length puts a massive strain on a bullpen that's been overworked — particularly with Skubal sidelined.
RHP Kenley Jansen
Nobody expected Kenley Jansen to be the dominant closer he once was with the Dodgers when he signed a one-year deal with the Tigers over the offseason, but Detroit fans had reason to believe he'd at least be a steady presence in the back end of their bullpen. He has not been that, especially lately.
After blowing just one of his 30 save opportunities in 2025, Jansen has already been charged with four blown saves in 11 tries this season. He has allowed four home runs in 18 appearances after allowing just eight in 62 outings in 2025, and he's walking way more batters this season as well. Jansen is one of the best closers in MLB history, but despite a bit of a reduced workload, he's tied for second in the Majors with those four blown saves.
President Scott Harris
As an executive, there's only so much Harris can control. He cannot control the fact that Skubal and several other key players suffered injuries. I wouldn't really blame him for some of the players on this team playing below their career norms, either. But I can blame Harris for looking at how the 2025 season went for Detroit and choosing not to make any major changes to this offense.
The Tigers scored more than four runs just twice in their eight postseason games last year, yet Harris was completely fine with running that unit back with rookie Kevin McGonigle as the only notable addition. Now, Detroit has scored the second-fewest runs in the sport and is only trending downward offensively.
To make matters worse, Harris' one truly big addition, Valdez, has been a disaster thus far. Keeping Skubal is a defensible decision if you make the team better around him. Harris did not do that, and we're seeing that clearly now with Skubal out.
More Detroit Tigers news and analysis:
Add us as a preferred source on Google