Tarik Skubal has the power to overrule Scott Boras if he really wants to pitch in WBC

Everything Tarik Skubal does and every decision he makes will be viewed through the lens of his ongoing contract standoff with the Detroit Tigers. For better or worse, we'll be left to look for clues as to how things may ultimately play out, even in seemingly unrelated scenarios.

The World Baseball Classic just happens to be one of those instances. Skubal originally planned to make just one start for Team USA in pool play. After taking the mound against Great Britain, Skubal is rethinking things, and is expected to make a decision today.

Understandably, for a competitor like Skubal, putting on the red, white, and blue uniform and going up against some of the best in the world was going to have an allure that he couldn't fully grasp until he actually got out there. It's natural for him to rethink the decision.

It's also understandable that he'd want to consult the Tigers before pulling the trigger on another start in the WBC. He doesn't have to do that; it's ultimately his choice, but it's a nice gesture.

At the same time, Skubal will be consulting his agent, Scott Boras, who will no doubt advise against it. Boras always wants to milk every last penny out of any deal for his clients, and with a prime asset like Skubal, he's looking at record-breaking territory for a starting pitcher, and he's not going to want to risk it with a WBC injury. How much weight Skubal gives his counsel will be interesting, but it will only set the scene for him to be the bad guy at the end.

Tarik Skubal could set himself up as the villain instead of the Tigers if his WBC decision is heavily influenced by Scott Boras

Skubal and Boras made the Tigers look silly in arbitration and tried to spin the record-setting $32 million victory as one for the little guys, using the system to his benefit while also showing the absurdity of it to try to help his fellow players earn more while under team control.

Advantage, Skubal. Sort of. Looking deeper, very few would have been able to use the loophole that allowed him to be compared to all pitchers, not just arbitration-eligible ones, to his benefit.

Skubal made some additional waves recently by claiming that the Tigers didn't come back to the negotiating table this offseason to talk extension, making the sub-$80 million offer from the 2024-2025 offseason the only known bid the club had extended.

All of this is designed to paint Detroit into a corner. The cheaper and less-committed they look, the more the heat will be turned up on them to cave to Skubal and Boras to avoid being the villain to the fan base.

But now, the tables could turn, and the Tigers could win the PR battle in the long run. They've already acquiesced and permitted Skubal (again, not that he needs it) to pitch in the WBC the first time around. They might prefer that he doesn't make a second start, but it's unlikely they actively try to prevent it.

So if he waffles back onto the side of being a one-and-done, that means Boras likely convinced him that it's in his best financial interest to avoid going back out there. That would speak volumes. It would announce that a great competitor like Skubal is more interested in preserving himself to maximize his impending mega-deal rather than succumb to his competitive urges and give the fans what they want to see.

So while the WBC seems to be as far outside of the tug-of-war between the ace and the franchise as possible, it isn't. If the common belief is that Skubal's top priority far and away is money, when he leaves next winter, the fans will believe there was nothing Detroit could have done, even if the club was never serious about a record-setting contract in the first place.