Former Detroit Tigers Pitcher Might Not Live Up to Next Contract Expectations
The Detroit Tigers are heading into the winter and free agency with a few needs after a great 2024 campaign.
It was an exciting and surprising season for the Tigers last year. Despite being sellers and seemingly waving the white flag on the season at the trade deadline, Detroit went on to become one of the best teams in the second half of the year.
The Tigers were able to snap a lengthy playoff drought, and they defeated the Houston Astros in the Wild Card Round. However, they saw their season come to an end in five games against the Cleveland Guardians.
One can certainly wonder what the season might have become if they didn’t make some of the trades, especially the one that sent Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The right-hander was having a great season with the Tigers, but as a free agent this offseason, they did the right thing at the time to trade him.
Now, the veteran will be a free agent, and he once again could be a fit for Detroit among other teams. However, while his 2024 campaign was great, there are some reasons to have concerns.
Recently, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report spoke about why Flaherty could be a bust of a free agent signing.
“As good as Flaherty was in 2024, there's still no escaping the sense that his rise as a true No. 1 back in 2019 isn't going to happen again. His average fastball is 1.0 mph slower than it was back then, and its value as a pitch was basically exhausted by the time July was over. That was about when concerns about his back were part of the news cycle. This is not to imply Flaherty is doomed to go back to the pitcher he was between 2020 and 2023, when he had a 4.42 ERA. But it can't be ruled out either.”
Even though he was great with the Tigers, he has had some consistency issues throughout his career. Just going back to 2023, the 29-year-old totaled a 4.99 ERA with the St. Louis Cardinals and Baltimore Orioles.
That certainly isn’t the type of ERA an organization wants to see for someone who will likely be receiving a $20 million a year contract.
While Flaherty isn’t in the top tier of free agent pitchers, he does have the upside to be a front-end starter, as shown in 2024. However, he also could have bad years as shown in 2023, which could mean he may not live up to expectations set in a new contract.
