Country or franchise? For Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, that’s the multi-million dollar question that has his agent and his team on edge.

A choice between national pride and a potential $400 million contract is weighing on Tarik Skubal, and the ace pitcher is being told to make it alone. He had initially decided to pitch once and leave for the Detroit Tigers’ Spring Training camp. But now, there is a dilemma.

Skubal is perhaps entering his most important season with the Detroit Tigers this year. After winning his $32 million arbitration case, Skubal is nine months away from free agency and signing an estimated $400 million contract.

The back-to-back Cy Young award winner, currently with Team USA, has already made his pre-decided start against Great Britain on March 7. A taste of the electrifying WBC atmosphere has made Skubal reevaluate his decision to return to the Tigers’ Spring Training after one game.

But Skubal must weigh the risks of continuing at the WBC before the MLB regular season has even begun. As the Tigers’ ace ponders over his choices, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal warned agent Scott Boras and the Tigers to step away.

“Don’t want to hear it from Skubal’s major-league club, the Detroit Tigers, or his agent, Scott Boras, if the ace left-hander ultimately chooses to make one more start for his country. This decision is intensely personal. It should be Skubal’s alone,” emphasized Rosenthal.

In the pool play round, Team USA continued its winning streak by dominating Team Great Britain 9-1. Skubal gave up a homer in his first pitch of the forty-one IP. But he was back to his usual form, with five strikeouts, zero walks, and only one single in the infield.

Following his WBC start, Skubal came out clean about his feelings.

“When you get into these environments, when you get this team, it’s hard to walk away from that,” he confessed, reported USA Today.

Skubal added, “I didn’t expect these types of emotions to run through my brain or my thoughts to differ. I was pretty committed to making a start and getting back to camp. Things have changed, obviously, that’s why I’m going to have some conversations to try and figure out a plan for me.”

Tarik Skubal is coming off his incredible Cy Young season. He has logged a career high of 195 1/3 innings with a 2.21 ERA and 241 strikeouts across 31 starts. He pitched 20 2/3 more innings in 3 starts, recording a 1.74 ERA.

Despite the injury risks, Skubal has opted to pitch for Team USA. And now, Rosenthal predicts that Boras would not want him to start another high-intensity Team USA game.

Boras would not want any delays to Skubal’s free agency. Neither would the Tigers want him to, especially after they lost to him in arbitration.

There are multiple factors for Skubal to consider.

Meanwhile, Rosenthal opines, “And in a social media-obsessed society often reduced to a cacophony of complaints, the back-to-back American League Cy Young award winner should be spared the cynicism that, regardless of his choice, is certain to come his way.”

While Skubal chose to pitch, Hunter Brown is one of the pitchers who declined his Team USA invite.

The Houston Astros pitcher, and a Cy Young finalist, preferred to prepare for his upcoming Astros season instead. Brown had avoided arbitration and agreed to a $5.71 million contract with the Astros this year.

In theory, per The Athletic, Skubal could pitch every fifth day and attend a Grapefruit League game on March 12, then again, return to pitch for Team USA on March 17, if they make it to the finals.

But it might be too much of a workload for him in mid-March, and the March 26 Opening Day is just eight days away from the final. It poses an unwanted disruption to Skubal’s routine, and his best option would be to choose either.

Skubal is in a tough place, but his USA teammates are ready to back him up in whatever choice he makes.

Skubal gains USA teammates’ support

The Tigers’ manager, AJ Hinch, has revealed that he expected Skubal to return after his start against Team Great Britain. But Skubal is in a dilemma, and his Team USA manager has stepped up to his defense.

“How could you want to leave this? It’s been unbelievable so far, it really has, exactly what I dreamed it would be,” defended Mark DeRosa via The Athletic.

He was talking about the players’ commitment and willingness to sacrifice for their home country. It is infectious, and Skubal is not as immune as he hoped to be.

In his game against Great Britain, Skubal was relieved by Clay Holmes. Holmes, who struck out six in three scoreless innings, was also sympathetic to Skubal’s situation.

“We all know the importance of getting to wear USA on the chest and what it means to be on this team… there’s a pull in other directions, a season to get ready for. Sometimes you have to make hard decisions. There is an understanding of that, no matter how much we want to win this,” Holmes shared with the Athletic.

As Holmes remarked, representing Team USA is a national pride for Skubal. Yet, 2026 will be a high-stakes season for a pitcher of his level. Any injury scare at this time can be too high a risk to take.

Phillies veteran Bryce Harper also expressed similar thoughts.

“He’s [Skubal] got to do what’s best for himself and his career,” Harper told The Athletic.

As DeRosa highlighted, the camaraderie in Team USA appears to be indeed one for the books this year. But only the next matches will tell if Tarik Skubal even needs to choose one, depending on whether this team can take the USA to the WBC finale.