Happy Wednesday, baseball fans—unless you're in Detroit. The Tigers are already dealing with a pitching staff decimated by injuries, and now they've lost their ace, two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, to elbow surgery to remove loose bodies. He's expected to be sidelined for 2-3 months, a massive blow to both the team and Skubal's looming free agency. With the AL Central suddenly tighter than expected, the Tigers face tough questions: How will they stay competitive? And how will this impact the trade deadline and free-agent market?

Mark Feinsand breaks down the fallout for Detroit and Skubal's future, while Ben Clemens examines how the AL Central race just got harder for the Tigers. Kyle Koster suggests the team may need to revive an old strategy: pitching chaos. Meanwhile, Stephanie Apstein predicts Skubal's injury could spark a much more active trade deadline across the league.

In other news, George Springer has finally returned to the Blue Jays lineup, giving Toronto a much-needed spark. Zack Meisel talks to superstar hitters about their toughest pitching nemeses (The Athletic subscription required). And Ildemaro Vargas is suddenly heating up at the plate, as Jay Jaffe reports.

Over in the NL East, Dan Szymborski wonders if the division race is already decided. But not so fast—the Braves just placed Ronald Acuña Jr. on the IL, shaking things up. Ryan Blake has the details. Ken Rosenthal explores whether Atlanta catcher Drake Baldwin could help raise the bar for catcher salaries (The Athletic subscription required).

Looking ahead, this Friday at Fenway will be special: to mark the 125th anniversary of the Red Sox's first home game in 1901, all living alumni with retired numbers—including Wade Boggs, Carlton Fisk, and others—will throw ceremonial first pitches. Tim Capurso also reports that the ABS system is moving to college baseball.

Stay tuned, because in baseball, the storylines never stop.