Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal throws a bullpen as accelerated recovery progresses

DETROIT — Tarik Skubal took a seat at the front of the Comerica Park interview room and cracked a toothy grin.

“Bet you guys didn’t expect to see me here,” he said.

Indeed, Skubal’s return to Detroit on Monday was a surprise and yet another indicator that his recovery from surgery is going as well as possible.

Skubal threw a full bullpen session, using all his pitches and resuming a typical five-day routine. The session marked the second time Skubal has thrown off the mound since surgery to remove a loose body from his left elbow only 12 days ago. His time off the mound was a touch-and-feel session. Monday was the real deal.

“Everything was very normal,” Skubal said. “I think that’s what the goal is, to get back to normal as fast as possible and get in a five-day rotation and get your body back in shape to be back in the big leagues.”

After his session, Skubal talked with reporters and recounted the moment he first learned of the NanoNeedle 2.0, the less invasive surgical tool that is expediting his recovery. If Skubal had undergone a traditional arthroscopy, he likely would have missed 2-3 months.

“I think the first thing they said was, ‘The recovery will be faster,’” Skubal said. “I think I stopped listening after that. It’s like, ‘All right, I’m good with it if you’re good with it.’ You trust the doctors. (Dr. Neal) ElAttrache is the best surgeon in the world. … If he’s comfortable with it, I don’t see why I wouldn’t be comfortable with it.”

Skubal is the first known MLB pitcher to have the NanoNeedle used, a tool smaller than a traditional arthroscope to penetrate the elbow and locate loose bodies. The smaller instrument causes less damage to tissue, resulting in less swelling and inflammation after surgery. For pitchers, that means a much shorter time without throwing.

In the days after the surgery, agent Scott Boras started touting the instrument as the “Skubal Scope.”

“(ElAttrache) is the one who said it, and Boras ran with it,” Skubal said, laughing. “Let’s clear the room there. I saw a lot of stuff about that. That was not our camp.”

While reports of his accelerated timeline might have seemed like a publicity stunt, Skubal warmed up with throws from 120-plus feet, firing the ball to a bullpen catcher.

Incoming rain moved Skubal’s bullpen inside and away from public view, but Skubal came back with positive reports.

“For me, I’m trying to keep the governor on a little bit,” Skubal said. “That’s kind of the guidance that I’ve been told. ‘Hey, hold it back. You’re going to feel good, but try to keep the reins on a little bit, and as you respond well and as you keep bouncing back well from each bullpen session, then you can just go out there and compete.’

“I think that’s the hardest part right now. I feel really good, and I want to let it go, but I’ve been instructed not to.”

The big question now is when, exactly, will Skubal be back to game action?

He is a free agent after the season, and there could be a large sum of money riding on how much and how well he pitches. Skubal’s club is also scuffling at 20-27, having lost 10 of its past 12 games.

For now, there is still no definitive timeline.

“There’s a lot of things that (have to) happen, whether it be a rehab assignment or something,” Skubal said. “Getting through those starts obviously matters, and that will determine (when) I’m back here too. I’d love to sit here and give you an answer for when I’m going to be back. I want that same answer. But hopefully, sooner rather than later.”

A two-time Cy Young Award winner, Tarik Skubal’s return isn’t just integral to the Tigers’ chances but his own impending free agency. (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

Although some uncertainty remains, Skubal has marveled at aspects of his own recovery. He previously had Tommy John surgery in 2017 and flexor tendon surgery in 2022.

Skubal recalled waking from previous operations in an arm cast. This time, he only had to wear an arm sleeve, and he was encouraged to work on regaining his range of motion as soon as possible. He returned to throwing within days and instantly reported a feeling of freedom in his arm.

“I didn’t realize how much it was impacting me day to day until taking that thing out of there,” Skubal said. “I feel great. It’s different stuff, too. Stuff that’s not even pitching related. These symptoms would come up at home, too, sometimes. To not have that has been a huge blessing.”

The incisions from Skubal’s surgery were also minor. He explained it as small dots on the back of his arm.

He lifted his left elbow to show his scar from Tommy John surgery.

“It’s a lot less than that,” he said.

Skubal’s return to the ballpark could serve as an emotional boost for a Tigers team dealing with a long list of injuries. Over the past two years, Skubal has been not only the team’s ace but also its emotional centerpiece.

Still, the Tigers will resist the temptation to throttle Skubal. The club will continue following a step-by-step plan, building Skubal’s volume back to full force.

“In trying to not put a schedule in our minds to begin with, we don’t have to think we’re moving up or slowing down at any point,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We just are giving him the next thing that’s prescribed by experts in throwing, the doctor and Tarik himself, who’s describing what he’s feeling or what he’s not feeling.”

As Skubal keeps moving forward, more people in the sport are wondering how the NanoNeedle could alter recovery timelines for pitchers with similar injuries. Blake Snell of the Dodgers, like Skubal a two-time Cy Young Award winner, recently went on the injured list with loose bodies in his arm.

Skubal said he hasn’t yet reached out to Snell, though he’s game for anything that helps make the sport better.

But as for patenting the Skubal Scope?

“I haven’t really wrapped my brain around having an injury named after me,” Skubal said. “I’d rather have my career be what people remember (me) for. Not some sort of surgery. But we’ll see. Jury’s out.”