"I feel like we've kind of got a brand new team all of a sudden," Tarik Skubal said on "Sunday Night Baseball" broadcast of Tigers vs Phillies.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal reacted to the team's underwhelming MLB trade deadline moves while speaking from the dugout in-game on ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday against Philadelphia Phillies.
"I'm excited, it's the first time I've been part of a team that's acquired talent at the deadline," Skubal said. "I've been apart of four teams that have sold and that's not a fun place to be. ... I met a lot of them for the first time yesterday and just after the game we sat in the locker room and talked shop for probably an hour after the game and I think that's pretty cool.
"I feel like we've kind of got a brand new team all of a sudden."
Skubal, rightfully so, said he doesn't care what others are saying about the team's moves and outlook the rest of the season. There are 49 games before the 2025 playoffs begin in early October.
"A lot of us don't care either," Skubal said. "We're gonna play baseball, we know what we got. We know the talent that we have and we know what it takes to win baseball games. At the end of the day that's all that matters."
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Skubal earned the win Saturday in the Tigers' 7-5 win over the Phillies, with Skubal tossing seven innings of three-run ball.
Skubal is one of the biggest stories in baseball and not just for his on-field prolifics: He's scheduled to become a free agent after the 2026 season, where he could become the sport's first $400 million pitcher.
Before then, he has two potential playoff runs to make with the Tigers in 2025 and 2026, and just welcomed a second child last week.
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But most importantly, how many cheesesteaks did he eat while in Philadelphia for this three-game series?
"I had one last night, I had one in the clubhouse today, I'm probably gonna have another one right after this," Skubal said answering ESPN analyst Eduardo Pérez's question. "Couldn't eat any yesterday because I had to pitch."
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal reacts to Detroit Tigers trade deadline moves
Category: Baseball
