A.J. Hinch immediately refutes Tarik Skubal report to Tigers fans' annoyance

The reporting of Tarik Skubal's injury has become a circus. That shouldn't be a surprise, considering Scott Boras is lurking in the background, but it's made it hard for Detroit Tigers fans to get concrete answers on the actual plan for Skubal's return. The latest twist was on Wednesday when it was suggested that Skubal's return is going so smoothly that he may not need a minor-league rehab assignment.

Skubal not needing a minor-league rehab assignment would be a sharp turn away from the messaging the Tigers have had over the past week. The Tigers have stressed that steps won't be skipped during Skubal's recovery, indicating that not only would he throw multiple bullpen sessions, but likely have a minor-league outing or two before he does return to the rotation.

The hunch is that the idea of Skubal not needing a rehab assignment was floated by Boras. If you're Boras, the goal is the ensure that Skubal's surgery does not impact the bidding that is expected when he hits free agency this offseason. What better way to do that than by suggesting that Skubal can defy the logic when it comes to a pitcher returning from elbow surgery.

Even Skubal admitted that he's been told that the plan is to not rush his return. A.J. Hinch was asked about the idea of Skubal skipping a rehab assignment and immediately shut that idea down.

Nothing is simple with Tarik Skubal's recovery

To the surprise of no one, this is yet another eye-rolling moment for reporting on the plan for Skubal's return. Tigers fans were given a glimmer of hope with the idea that Skubal could be back sooner than expected, but on the same day, the notion is shut down by the Tigers themselves.

Things are certainly dire for the Tigers and Skubal's return could be the instance that pushes thier season back in the right direction, but things would be much worse if his return was rushed only for him to suffer a setback.

There certainly remains a chance that Skubal can beat the initial eight-week estimate for his return, but it won't because the Tigers skip over a box or two. Skubal has specific hurdles that he needs to clear, and when he does, he will move to the next step of his recovery. Once all hurdles are cleared and each box is checked, that is when he will be back for the Tigers. Not a moment sooner.

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