Exclusive | Tarik Skubal vows to give everything to Dodgers, LA in World Series quest

PHOENIX — Freddie Freeman wasn’t upset when he heard the remarks Tarik Skubal made last week about wanting to return to the Detroit Tigers as a free agent.Freeman understood.“You’re not just gonna flip a switch and be, like, ‘Oh, I’m great,’” Freeman said.Freeman was in a similar position four years ago. For Freeman, the disappointment over not working out a new deal with the Atlanta Braves wasn’t something he overcame the moment he signed his Dodgers contract. Moving on required more than that.Which was why Freeman said he thought Skubal would benefit from making his home debut with the Dodgers on Monday night. “When you see 50-some thousand people rally around you, it’s definitely going to give him a more amped-up feeling,” Freeman said. Skubal said he was looking forward to his start at Dodger Stadium against the Kansas City Royals.The start will be Skubal’s second in a Dodgers uniform.“I’m excited to get in front of our own fans and get to know them and build relationships with them,” Skubal told the California Post.

“Hopefully, they come to enjoy who I am and what I bring to the table.”The two-time Cy Young Award winner acknowledged he was still coming to terms with being traded by the Tigers, the only organization for which he’d played as a professional. “It’s all pretty fresh,” Skubal said.In an interview on the “Pardon My Take” podcast, the 29-year-old Skubal said he cried as he said goodbye to his Tigers teammates after being informed of the trade.Skubal made headlines in that interview when he said he hoped the Tigers would make an effort to re-sign him when he becomes a free agent after this season.“I would love to return,” he said.The remarks were not well received in Los Angeles, but Skubal said there shouldn’t be any concerns about his feelings affecting his on-field performance.“At the end of the day, I gotta do my job here,” he said.

“Go play baseball and go out there and compete.Shi...