New York Yankees Boss Reveals Reason for Not Trading for Tigers Jack Flaherty
The Detroit Tigers found a deal for Jack Flaherty at the last moment of the trade deadline, sending him to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Flaherty, the best pitcher traded at the deadline, will now have an opportunity to play for one of the top teams in Major League Baseball.
Before he was traded to the Dodgers, there were multiple reports that plenty of teams around the league were interested in the right-hander, including the New York Yankees.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Yankees backed out of a deal because of medical concerns. Flaherty has dealt with some back issues but has pitched well despite the injury.
"The issue with Flaherty, his lower back, forced him to miss a start at the beginning of July and receive two injections in a span of three weeks."
However, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Brian Cashman said that they didn't land the former Tigers arm because they couldn't match value for a deal.
There's certainly a possibility that both things are true here. If Cashman has an interest in Flaherty, who hits free agency at the end of the year, he's not going to mention any medical concerns about him. Doing so would hurt the relationship, so it's much easier for him to come out and say that they couldn't find a deal that made sense for both sides.
New York was well-positioned to land him, and considering what Los Angeles sent to Detroit, it's tough to believe that they couldn't have negotiated a better deal.
Flaherty is excited to play for the Dodgers, as the California native will be back home. He was also more than content to return to the Tigers if a deal didn't come to light.
Detroit must've been in a tough position if his medicals worried teams around the league, which is likely why he didn't return as big of a trade package as some had initially hoped for.
Thayron Liranzo and Trey Sweeney aren't bad prospects by any means, but multiple pitchers were traded for bigger packages despite Flaherty being the better pitcher.
The 28-year-old revived his career with the Tigers in a big way, posting an impressive 2.95 ERA in 106 2/3 innings pitched. If he can continue to throw how he has for much of the year, he should be in a good position to get paid in the offseason.
JON CONAHAN