The Detroit Tigers have signed starting pitcher Jack Flaherty to a 2 year, $35M contract the club announced. The deal, which is still pending a physical, has an opt out after year 1.
The deal signals a wild 14 months for the 29 year old and the Tigers front office. Since December of 2023, Flaherty signed a 1 year, $14M deal with Detroit, was subsequently traded to the Dodgers for two prospects in July of 2024, won a World Series, and now returns to Detroit.
The right handed pitcher bounced back from a dismal 2023 which saw his ERA balloon up to 4.99 as he split time between the Cardinals and Orioles. Between Detroit and LA, Flaherty dropped his ERA to 3.17 in 2024, while posting a 13-7 record with 194 Ks across 162 IP.
His underlying numbers were good as well as Flaherty posted the 2nd highest swing and miss rate amongst qualified pitchers at 32.1%, trailing only Dylan Cease. His 10.8 K/9 mark was 3rd best in the Majors, trailing only Chris Sale and Sonny Gray as well.
Flaherty rejoins a Tigers rotation which features reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, alongside Reese Olson, Casey Mize, and Alex Cobb. How that pecking order likely shakes out remains to be seen, but there are also some intriguing arms who could be pushed to middle relief or late innings duty during spring training as well.
Detroit still features Matt Manning, Keider Montero, and Jackson Jobe who could vie for back of the rotation spots or be converted to relievers in the early part of 2025.
Flaherty was seeking a long term deal after leading the postseason in innings pitched for the Dodgers. However, his market never materialized, leading him to explore the “one and done” style deal which has become popular amongst pitchers such as Jordan Montgomery and Carlos Rodon in recent years.
The Tigers officially kick off their spring training on February 22nd in a 1:05pm ET game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Photo: Charles Edward Miller. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.