Tigers Starting Pitcher Should Be Trade Target For Guardians
High on the Cleveland Guardians trade deadline targets needs to be a starting pitcher. Preferably a middle-of-the-rotation arm who is a veteran and can be a stable presence on the mound once every five days.
While an inter-division trade can be hard to organize, Cleveland doesn’t need to look any further than the Detroit Tigers to find the exact player they’re looking for. Jack Flaherty is the pitcher who should be a trade target for the Guardians as the deadline approaches.
Flaherty, 28, is having a resurgent season with the Tigers posting an ERA of 3.01 and a 0.95 WHIP over 13 starts. His swing-and-miss pitches have been working wonders this season as his 100 strikeouts are currently the eighth most-qualified starter.
Flaherty is the type of pitcher the Guardians should feel comfortable having in a potential playoff rotation. He has pitched in three different postseasons dating back to his time with the St. Louis Cardinals and Baltimore Orioles.
Given that Flaherty is on a one-year $14 million deal, the price to acquire him shouldn’t be astronomical compared to another player who has years of team control left.
The biggest hurdle, as mentioned before, is that the Tigers play in the same division as the Guardians. It’s not common for two teams who play each other over 10 times a year to swing a win-now move such as this one, but it's certainly possible.
The Guardians need more starting pitching to be considered a true American League contender. If they’re series about going on a playoff run this fall, then trying to bring in Jack Flaherty is exactly what they need to do.
TOMMY WILD