Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal got a phone call on Friday, July 11, that essentially confirmed his selection as the starter for the American League at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.
But it wasn’t from Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, nor was it from American League All-Star manager Aaron Boone, who ultimately made the selection.
It was from New York Yankees ace Max Fried.
“He asked me if I wanted to start [the game],” Skubal said pregame on Sunday, July 13.
Fried would have made an understandable selection to start the All-Star game for a few reasons. One, he’s been one of the top starters in baseball this season, putting up a 2.43 ERA in 122 innings pitched in his first season with the Yankees. Two, he’s managed by Boone, who had the option to go with the homer pick as his All-Star starter.
But maybe most fittingly, Fried would have started the game for the AL in Atlanta, where the lefty ace spent the first eight years of his career from 2017-24. That’s a storyline Skubal appreciates.
“I told him, ‘Hey, if you want to start it, I get it. I’m a fan of the game, I want to watch that as well,'” Skubal said. “I’m not going to get offended or anything like that.”
Fried then told Skubal he didn’t care about the storyline and said that the Tigers lefty deserved the start over him.
Skubal then got a call from Boone on Saturday, July 12, that confirmed the start, but he essentially got his confirmation from Fried the day before.
“It’s a very professional thing to do, and you got a ton of respect for guys that do stuff like that,” Skubal said.
Fried dropped out of the All-Star Game soon after on Friday, allowing his teammate Carlos Rodón to take his place.
Though Fried’s return-to-Atlanta storyline would have made fun headlines, many experts would consider Skubal the better choice to start the game. Skubal leads all qualified MLB starters in fWAR (4.3), strikeout rate (11.4 per nine innings), walk rate (1.2 per nine innings) and FIP (2.02) while standing as the current favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award.
Hinch calls Skubal’s starting news a “pretty awesome” recognition of the ace’s season.
“It’s a fun recognition for him and for the rest of baseball to have him represent the American League, represent the Tigers and get that nod,” he said.
Hinch’s rotation plans for after the All-Star break
With two Tigers starters potentially pitching in the All-Star Game, and with so much time off during the All-Star break for the rest of the staff, Hinch hasn’t fully settled on the starting rotation for when the Tigers travel to play the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, from Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 20.
Hinch said that righty Reese Olson will get the Friday start, and he wants to start Skubal on Sunday to get the lefty back on his regular rest schedule after his Tuesday All-Star appearance.
The Saturday starter hasn’t been decided yet, however.
Hinch says he wants to slot Casey Mize in for Saturday, but that it might “complicate things” if the first-time All-Star pitches in the All-Star game in Atlanta on Tuesday after his start against the Seattle Mariners on Saturday, July 12. If Mize were to pitch, it would give him a short number of rest days between each of the three appearances.
“Because then you’re asking him to potentially pitch short in the All-Star game and then short in Texas,” Hinch said. “So I will pay attention to the box score on Tuesday, and then we can react.”
Mize was named to his first All-Star team on Friday in the middle of a resurgent season for the former No. 1 draft pick. Despite a rough start on Saturday, Mize has a 3.15 ERA over 88⅔ innings in 16 starts for the Tigers in 2025.
As for Olson, he’s in a different boat with nine days of scheduled rest between his last start on July 9 and his next scheduled start on the 18th. To compensate, Hinch said that Olson will throw a bullpen session on Sunday to get him ready for Friday’s start.
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The surprising phone call that made Tarik Skubal All-Star Game starter