National League Contender Reportedly Eyeing Detroit Tigers Star

With the trade market starting to heat up, the Detroit Tigers seem to have a growing list of suitors for one of their star pitchers.

May 6, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (9) reacts after giving up a home run in the sixth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Tigers are in an interesting position heading into the trade deadline.

They would like to start emerging from their rebuilding phase, but they aren't going to compete for the AL Central title this year and likely won't make the playoffs either as they trailed the final Wild Card spot by six games entering Thursday's contest.

Because of their standing, the front office seems to be eyeing moving some of their assets.

How aggressively they're willing to sell will be seen as multiple teams are inquiring about their ace Tarik Skubal and seem ready to send out a monster package to get the star left-hander. The Tigers could take advantage of that during this deadline that will favor sellers, but not having one of the best pitchers in the league would prolong their rebuild.

Instead, Detroit could be fairly conservative before the deadline, deciding to move rental pieces and hold onto the rotational cornerstone.

That would be the best of both worlds as they would keep Skubal in the mix but also get back some future assets for players who likely will depart in free agency after the year anyway.

When factoring that in, Jack Flaherty becomes their No. 1 movable piece.

The star right-hander is having the best season of his career since he finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting back in 2019 before injuries derailed him. Through 18 starts this year, he's posted a 2.95 ERA and has an 11.2 K/9 ratio.

Contending teams around the league reportedly are extremely interested in landing Flaherty, and according to MLB insider Jon Morosi, the Tigers starter is an option the Philadelphia Phillies have internally discussed.

In the past, the Phillies haven't had many young assets that selling teams would be interested in, but after a revamping of their farm system, there are plenty of prospects in their pipeline who could interest Detroit.

Having the best team in Major League Baseball eyeing Flaherty is a great sign for the Tigers. That would suggest others around the league are doing the same, ultimately driving up the price to get the resurgent starter out of Detroit.

What comes from this will ultimately be seen when the deadline comes and goes, but Flaherty seems like a prime candidate to be moved and help the Tigers get assets that will factor into their future success.