Scott Boras ally provides optimistic Tarik Skubal timeline fans are skeptical about

Part of what made the news of Tarik Skubal's surgery so frustrating — apart from, you know, all of the obvious reasons — is the way it was reported.

Jon Heyman was the first to announce that the Tigers were scratching Skubal from his scheduled start against the Red Sox on Monday, but added that the "hope and belief is he will be OK. Seen as a precautionary move."

Less than half an hour later, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic revealed Heyman's intel to be either blindly optimistic or hilariously misinformed (maybe both). Not only was Skubal going onto the IL, he would be undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies in his left elbow.

The Tigers were very clear from the outset: they did not have a timeline to return right off the bat. Skubal actually needed to go through the surgery before they could evaluate properly.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed it on Wednesday, and Heyman came back with a new update.

Forgive us, Jon Heyman — who, notably, has also been a longtime ally of Skubal's agent Scott Boras — if we're not quick to believe you after the whiplash Tigers fans were forced to suffer on Monday and the overall catastrophe of this entire week.

Jon Heyman provides a too-good-to-be-true update on Tarik Skubal after successful surgery on Wednesday

Of course, it would be great if we could take anything Heyman says at face value. We've had to listen to experts either catastrophize or just throw their hands up and admit that they don't really know what the answer is. Getting some kind of answer should be better than nothing at all.

But Tigers fans feel like we've lived multiple lives in the span of four days, given injury after injury with some drama and a suspension sprinkled in for good measure, and we're jaded. Heyman's history of aligning himself with Boras can never be overlooked. It's in both Boras and Skubal's best financial interests to project only positivity and good news, given that the initial news of the surgery immediately prompted questions as to how this might affect his free agency if he's sidelined for three or more months, or doesn't even pitch again this season.

We're going to err on the side of caution and wait until either the Tigers themselves or another beat writer can corroborate this timeline. We've dealt with far too much disappointment over the last week, and we're tired.

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