With the Los Angeles Dodgers in the midst of spring training, the team also has players competing in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), such as USA catcher Will Smith, as he'll be receiving pitches from Tarik Skubal in Saturday's game against Great Britain. As there have been rumors connecting the Dodgers and Skubal, there's no denying that the WBC lineup announcement had some fans noticing the link.

One user on X, formerly Twitter, named “daip,” would write “Skubal pitching to Will Smith we getting a early 2027 preview y'all lol,” referencing the endless speculation on the Detroit Tigers star pitcher joining Los Angeles in the 2027 season.

Another user on the social media platform by the name of “Lindsay Adams” would also reference the rumors around Skubal and the Dodgers, saying, “Will Smith catching Tarik, eh?”

Tarik Skubal on Tigers' contract and the likelihood of Dodgers' pursuit

There's no denying that Skubal will be wanted by everybody in the league after two straight AL Cy Young awards, as the pursuit could be even more heated after the pitcher said “there is no offer” from Detroit on a contract.

“And there won't be an offer until the end of the season. My focus is on playing baseball and winning this year. I’ll deal with the contract stuff at the end of the year, and then we'll kind of see. And that’s fine. It’s their decision,” Skubal said, via USA Today.

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Still, some find it hard to believe that Los Angeles will end up with Skubal, like Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci, who spoke on how much the pitcher means to the Tigers.

“I've never really bought into that possibility, only because of how much he means to Detroit,” Verducci said, via Dodgers Nation. “The Dodgers do their due diligence. We all know that. And I think Tarik Skubal likely is not going to resign with the Tigers.”

At any rate, it remains to be seen what happens, but Smith catching for Skubal in the WBC is a view that Dodgers fans want to get used to.