Former Detroit Tigers Starter Pegged as Top Available Free Agent
The Detroit Tigers just experienced one of the crazier seasons Major League Baseball has ever seen, thanks in large part to the recent expansion of the playoffs.
Entering the July 30th MLB trade deadline with a 52-57 record, the team found itself 14.0 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the American League Central division lead, and 7.5 games back of the third Wild Card berth.
A sell-off ensued, with the team turning their attention to the future, but the baseball gods found favor in something the Tigers were doing and helped lead them to an insane turnaround that saw the club finish the 2024 campaign with an 86-76 record, good enough for that elusive third Wild Card berth.
The sell-off was already completed, however, with many pieces finding new homes with new organizations, including veteran starting pitcher Jack Flaherty.
Flaherty was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, with minor leaguer Thayron Liranzo and Trey Sweeney making their way to Detroit in return.
The season would culminate with Flaherty celebrating his first World Series Championship while the Tigers were already weeks into their vacation.
Now, Flaherty is about to enter free agency, with Keith Law of The Athletic ranking the starter as the eighth-best available free agent, and the fourth-best starting pitcher.
"If healthy, he’s a strong No. 3 starter who can work deep into games," writes Law, "because he’s efficient and misses enough bats to survive some hard contact."
This will be the second foray into free agency for Flaherty, who signed a one-year deal with Detroit last offseason for $14 million.
Consistency has been an issue for the starter throughout his career, and having him ranked this high as an available free agent could be a strong case of recency bias.
Flaherty has certainly shown flashes of brilliance at times throughout his career, and carries a 3.63 ERA across 829 2/3 innings, with 942 strikeouts, and a 112 ERA+ in 159 games (153 starts).
2024 was one of the best seasons of Flaherty's career, seeing the starter pitch to a 3.17 ERA across 162 innings with 194 strikeouts and a 127 ERA+, but it was in a contract year, and players have been proven to step their games up tremendously when working toward a larger contract.
Even with the inconsistency Flaherty has shown throughout his career, the veteran can be a valuable piece at the back end of any contender's rotation.
