Detroit Tigers Reportedly Still 'In The Mix' To Bring Back Elite Right-Hander
The Detroit Tigers entered the offseason seen as a team who would likely try to add starting pitching help behind unanimous AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
For as spectacular as Skubal was last year, the depth behind him was not great.
Jack Flaherty was having a sensational season in the No. 2 spot, but when the Tigers appeared to be out of contention, they shipped him out of town at the trade deadline to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Of course, things turned around after the deadline starting in late August, and Detroit went on an epic run to make the playoffs and come within one win of reaching the ALCS before being defeated in the ALDS at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians.
A huge part of the reason why the playoff run ended when it did was they ran out of pitchers.
On days where Skubal couldn't go, A.J. Hinch had to piece together bullpen games and try to manufacture wins, a strategy that generally doesn't work in the postseason.
Having Flaherty on board would have been a tremendous boost since he went on to help the Dodgers win the World Series. But perhaps the Tigers could find a way to reunite with the veteran in the Motor City with him being the top remaining free agent pitcher available.
"A number of other teams also remain in the mix for Flaherty including the Giants, Blue Jays, Tigers and Cubs," Mark Feinsand of MLB.com wrote about the chase for the right-hander this past week.
Feinsand mentioned those four teams right after qualifying his belief of the Baltimore Orioles being the favorite to sign him, but with the Orioles agreeing to terms on Friday with veteran righty Charlie Morton, it feels unlikely they'd be in on Flaherty as well.
Flaherty was sensational for Detroit before they sent him off to Los Angeles after the team signed him on a one-year deal last offseason.
In 18 starts, the veteran posted a 7-5 record with a 2.95 ERA along with a WHIP of 0.956 and 133 strikeouts in 106.2 innings pitched. While he didn't finish the year in the regular season and playoffs as strongly with the Dodgers, he still ended with a 3.17 ERA and a WHIP narrowly above 1.00.
His time with the Tigers was the best Flaherty has pitched in his entire career, and he would surely love to return if the price is right.
Signing him, however, would be contrary to what the team has said after they brought in Alex Cobb on an expensive one-year deal since general manager Jeff Greenberg told the media they are likely done adding starting pitching.
It's safe to say signing Flaherty would be a supremely popular move within the fan base after the Cobb deal was seen mostly as a disappointment.
Though it seemed like the possibility was dead previously, perhaps there's still a shot.
