The only remaining question is whether Tarik Skubal can establish he is healthy. His team, the Detroit Tigers, is on the verge of achieving the near-impossible – falling out of contention not just in one of the weakest divisions in baseball, but also in an underwhelming American League with six playoff spots available.Skubal, recovering from an innovative new surgery to remove a loose body from his left elbow, is scheduled to throw another simulated game Monday. If he continues his rapid progress, he will be back sometime in the next few weeks, maybe sooner. And if the Tigers decide to trade him, they likely will hold off as long as possible before the Aug. 3 deadline, allowing demand to build and Skubal to demonstrate he is back to his two-time Cy Young form.Still, a growing belief exists within the industry that Skubal is a goner. And if NanoNeedle surgery indeed repaired his elbow with minimal disruption, the frenzy to acquire him might even top what we saw with Juan Soto in 2022 or any other July auction in recent memory.Every contender will at least check in – yes, even the spendaholic, back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who might view the deadline as something close to last call. The next collective bargaining agreement will include either a salary cap, closing the sport’s Free Spending Saloon, or other payroll restrictions that would have a similarly sobering effect.The Tigers, 4-21 since learning Skubal would need surgery, are 16 games under .500, the worst team in the AL. They are 11.5 games out in the Central, seven games back in the wild-card race. And they have 14 players, including 10 pitchers, on the injured list, tied with the Dodgers for the most in the majors.Right fielder Kerry Carpenter (shoulder) returned as a DH on Sunday, and second baseman Gleyber Torres (oblique) should not be far behind, potentially sparking the offense. Skubal, whenever he rejoins the team, obviously should provide a jolt.So for now, the Tigers cling to faint hope, recalling their incredible run in the final two months of 2024. Yes, it was just two years ago when they earned a postseason berth after falling behind by 10 games, the largest deficit any team has overcome under the current playoff format, which began in 2022.Yet, even that Tigers club was never more than nine games under .500. This Tigers club, seven games worse than that, is all but buried. No team this many games under .500 has made the playoffs under the current format, according to STATS Perform.