Jack Flaherty joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in San Diego on Wednesday and took his turn settling into the visiting dugout at Petco Park to speak with media for the first time since being traded by the Detroit Tigers.
The Burbank, Calif., native expressed his excitement to be part of a Dodgers organization he grew up watching and cheering for, and also addressed concerns about lower back trouble that caused him to miss two starts earlier this season and was treated with two injections.
“All I know is I’ve felt great. I’ve felt great. Since we got back from the (All-Star) break or even right before that, I felt great,” Flaherty said. “Just been ready to pitch and pretty anxious, just want to get out there again. I pitched a week ago and getting scratched, I understand it’s part of it. I’m just looking forward to getting out there again.”
The Dodgers front office remained patient leading up to this year’s MLB trade deadline and pounced in the final minutes to acquire Flaherty.
Teams that traded a pitcher extracted significant returns, but the Dodgers landed Flaherty for a relatively nominal cost in the form of prospects Thayron Liranzo and Trey Sweeney. Liranzo was among a wealth of catching prospects in the Dodgers farm system, while Sweeney ranked behind other shortstops in the organization.
Hours after the Dodgers were widely declared one of the proverbial winners of the 2024 trade deadline, a report surfaced with details of the New York Yankees deciding to pass on trading for Flaherty because of concerns about his back injury.
When asked specifically about the Yankees’ reported concerns, Flaherty reiterated, “I just know that I feel good and I’m ready to go.”
Dodgers confident in Jack Flaherty’s health
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was not specifically asked about Flaherty’s health when discussing the team’s trade deadline on Tuesday, but offered a vote of confidence as well.
“I’m excited to get Jack. I’ve met him a couple times and to get a player who’s having a huge year, seems like he’s healthy and thriving, this is a place I know he’s excited about being,” Roberts said.
General manager Brandon Gomes touted the 28-year-old as the caliber of pitcher the Dodgers targeted for their rotation.
“We had a ton of conversations with a lot of teams over this last week. We talked about adding an impact starter was was a very high priority for us,” Gomes said. “And Jack definitely is that. His command, his stuff, the swing and miss, we feel like that is a real power option come October. So he fits into this rotation really well.”
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