Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson played in the same organization as Tarik Skubal for seven years.
Now, sooner than he and the Tigers wanted, they'll be facing each other on opposite sides at Comerica Park.
"I obviously love him, great friend," Torkelson said Wednesday, Aug. 26. "But in between the lines, we're trying to beat each other."
That will be the task for the Tigers on Friday night, when Skubal will officially make his visiting debut at Comerica Park for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday there is a possibility two-time reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani will take the mound on Sunday.
At any other time, in any other ballpark, Ohtani's first start since July 3 would be the story of
the weekend.
But in Detroit, where Skubal also flexes some back-to-back hardware as the two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, the left-hander will be the headline.
"It's pretty weird to think about facing someone who was just in our clubhouse," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said before Wednesday's series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays. "That's the nature of the trade deadline, and then you can multiply it because anything around Tarik is pretty extreme."
That might be an understatement.
How Tigers will approach Tarik Skubal reunion
The frenzy surrounding Skubal made the 2026 MLB trade deadline one of the most hectic ever for the Tigers. They ultimately acquired three prospects from the Dodgers for Skubal on Aug. 1, two days before the Aug. 3 deadline.
One of those prospects, starting pitcher River Ryan, could be pitching for the Tigers by the end of the season – but otherwise the trade was a play for the future, with centerpiece Zyhir Hope now manning the outfield at Double-A Erie.
In the meantime, the Dodgers are getting major league results from the trade right away, with Skubal posting a 3.38 ERA over 24 innings in four starts for Los Angeles so far.
The Tigers are 9-12 since the deal.
But just because the Tigers batters have spent a lot of time with Skubal in the clubhouse and on the field, it doesn't mean they will have an advantage when stepping into the batters box against their ex-teammate.
"We know him really well, but it doesn't mean we know what he's going to throw every single time or where he's going to throw it. So I think we still have to have solid plans at the plate and know the way he's going to attack us," Torkelson said. "It's just like any tough pitcher, you just gotta grind him out."
Like Torkelson, infielder Colt Keith spent seven years in the Tigers organization with Skubal. And though the lefty is not expecting to bat against Skubal on Friday, he says seeing Skubal in a different uniform will be "weird."
"It seems yesterday, the [trade] deadline," he said. "I think it's gonna be a pretty competitive game. A lot of guys are gonna want to get some good at bats against him."
Keith also said he expects Skubal to engage in some friendly banter with Tigers hitters, even if the pitching itself won't be nearly as friendly.
"I'm sure he'll be chirping," Keith said. "Hopefully we'll put five or six [runs] up on him, he won't be laughing then."
Tigers vs Dodgers a big game beyond Tarik Skubal
Friday's game will have added importance beyond a reunion with an old friend.
The Tigers (62-70) entered Wednesday 2-9 in their past 11 games, plummeting to 4½ games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the race for the final AL wild-card berth with only 30 regular-season games left. Five other teams are also ahead of the Tigers.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, entered Wednesday at 80-52 with the biggest division lead in MLB at 9½ games over San Diego.
"We've got to do a good job of separating the bond with the human and then the competitor," Hinch said. "When the game starts, I think things will normalize, and we'll have a real challenge to face someone of his talent."
But if it were up to Hinch, the Tigers would rather kick the Skubal can down the road.
"When he got traded, I was sort of rooting for this to be pushed into the future, and not to have to do it a couple weeks later. But that's the challenge in front of us, and we can have a ton of respect for him and his time here, but also try to make it a bad Friday for him," he said.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal's Tigers return will be epic theater: 'I'm sure he'll be chirping'
