Tarik Skubal Makes WBC Decision That Greatly Impacts Padres Ahead of Opening Day

Tarik Skubal will be leaving Team USA in the World Baseball Classic to return to the Detroit Tigers in preparation for Opening Day of the 2026 Major League Baseball season, USA manager Mark DeRosa announced on Monday.

Tarik Skubal will leave Team USA following tonight’s game and return to camp with the Detroit Tigers, manager Mark DeRosa said.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 9, 2026

Skubal, who made one start for Team USA this past week, was reportedly debating pitching again. Instead, he'll return to Detroit and prepare for his presumed Opening Day start, where he'll face the San Diego Padres.

Skubal was initially planning on just making one start in the tournament, but started to have second thoughts after his appearance against Great Britain over the weekend.

“When you get into these environments, when you get this team, it’s hard to walk away from that,” Skubal said. “I didn’t expect these types of emotions to run through my brain or my thoughts to differ. I was pretty committed to making a start and getting back to camp.

“Things have changed, obviously, that’s why I’m going to have some conversations to try and figure out a plan for me. But yeah, I don’t know either way.”

Skubal, arguably the best pitcher in baseball, had a lot to weigh as he enters a contract year with Detroit. Skubal could potentially earn upwards of $400 million this offseason, assuming he remains healthy and continues his dominance. Making another start in the WBC would have likely been at the cost of starting on Opening Day for Detroit — and would've greatly impacted his plans for the beginning of the season.

Instead, Skubal has made the difficult decision to return to Detroit and continue his progression as normal. Over the weekend, he said it would be "one of the tougher decisions I’ve made in my career so far."

Skubal allowed a home run on the first pitch of Saturday's game to outfielder Nate Eaton. He settled in after that, finishing three innings while allowing just one additional hit. He struck out five in the United States' eventual 9-1 win.

Now, Skubal will leave Team USA after Monday's game against Mexico, rejoining the Tigers to prepare for the MLB season. Skubal has won back-to-back Cy Young awards and is looking to become just the third pitcher in MLB history to win three in a row, joining Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson who each won four in a row. Just 11 pitchers have won three or more Cy Young awards in MLB history.

Skubal will likely be lined up to start for the Tigers against the Padres on Opening Day, which is Thursday, March 26.

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