The Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal was scratched from his scheduled start against the Boston Red Sox on Monday and it could be months before he’s back in the rotation.
Skubal is expected to miss 2-3 months to recover from arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies in his pitching elbow.
The Tigers turned to left-hander Tyler Holton to start Monday in what will be a bullpen game for Detroit against the Red Sox.
News of the procedure comes five days after Skubal called a trainer to the mound in the latter stages of an outing against the Atlanta Braves.
Skubal threw a 96-mph fastball to the Braves’ Matt Olson in the seventh inning Wednesday, then motioned for catcher Dillon Dingler while rubbing his left forearm near his elbow. Skubal remained in the game and finished his outing with three consecutive strikeouts.
“I don’t really know how to explain it, I just needed a little bit of time,” Skubal said after the outing. “… And then the symptoms that I experienced on the one throw went away, and obviously it felt pretty good after that.”
Skubal had further issues during a throwing session Sunday and underwent tests where the loose bodies were discovered, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters Monday.
The relatively minor arthroscopic procedure is expected to have the two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner back on the mound at some point during the second half of the season.
Skubal, 29, is 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA over seven starts this season. He led the American League with a 2.21 ERA over 31 starts and 195 1/3 innings last season.
Over seven major league seasons, all with the Tigers, Skubal is 57-39 with a 3.06 ERA over 144 appearances (141 starts). He has 934 strikeouts over 810 innings.
