Tarik Skubal Headed to the Injured List: How To Replace Him in Fantasy Baseball

The Tigers stated that Tarik Skubal will require elbow surgery, thus likely sidelining the star for 2-3 months.

Apr 29, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers received awful news on Monday that their Cy Young Award winner, Tarik Skubal, is headed to the injured list. Skubal is said to have loose bodies in his left elbow and will require surgery. The matter reminds very much of Edwin Diaz's a mere couple of one weeks ago. Skubal will now be out for quite some time, prompting fantasy baseball managers to panic towards the next man up.

Fantasy Baseball Impact

The injury could easily have Skubal out for 2-3 months, if not even longer. He will sit squarely on the fantasy baseball IR, and moves must now be made. It is unlikely that Skubal can be traded for anything worthwhile in fantasy baseball, so a pivot must be made to the waiver wire. However, that pivot ought to be made within a risk-versus-reward strategy when chasing huge upside.

Jonah Tong — The Mets' top pitching prospect played in the majors late in 2025. While he struggled, he is set to make his return sooner rather than later. The Mets need a pitcher at the back of their rotation. In Tong's last three Triple-A starts, he has 4 earned runs and 21 strikeouts across 16.0 IP.

Max Meyer — The Marlins former 2nd overall pick is peaking in year three. In 7 starts, he has a 2.68 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 40 strikeouts over 37.0 IP.

Logan Henderson — The Brewers' hyped pitcher made his MLB debut, going 6 IP with 8 strikeouts and 2 earned runs. In Triple-A this season, Henderson had 12 strikeouts over 9.2 IP and 2 earned runs.

The going theme is to search for young players coming up to the big leagues soon in 2026. Their upsides are significantly higher than those of existing MLB players. Maybe, maybe we find a phenom like Nolan McLean and Jacob Misiorowski became mid-2025.

Tarik Skubal Injury Update

Tarik Skubal is being scratched tonight. But hope and belief is he will be OK. Seen as a precautionary move.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 4, 2026

Skubal was originally meant to pitch on Monday night. Instead, AJ Hinch scratched his start, and Skubal now heads to the IL. The timeline has not been confirmed, but such an injury usually requires a minimum of two months to come back from. Edwin Diaz recently endured the same matter, and he is out 2-3 months for the Dodgers.

While the Tigers shy away from jumping the gun on Skubal's injury, it appears to be all but confirmed that Skubal does not play baseball until after the All-Star break. The hope is that it is not much worse than the 2-3 month timeline as it is.