Jack Flaherty remains the top free agent left from the 2024 Los Angeles Dodgers and he’s arguably the best starting pitcher available on the market.
Flaherty appears unlikely to re-sign with the Dodgers despite his stated hope of staying with the club. However, he should still receive a fairly significant contract from a team in need of starting pitching.
Thus far, he has drawn interest from numerous teams, including but not limited to the Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres. All those teams seem to be out of the mix for various reasons, whether that’s due to moving on or financial restraints.
The Baltimore Orioles have inquired as well, but Flaherty may not be a fit for them after how things ended in his last stint with the club and their recent signing of Charlie Morton.
But even with all those teams seemingly not in the mix, Flaherty’s market remains strong with the Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays still pursuing him, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com:
A number of other teams also remain in the mix for Flaherty including the Giants, Blue Jays, Tigers and Cubs.
Flaherty is coming off a solid year with the Tigers and Dodgers in which he made 28 starts while going a combined 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA, 3.48 FIP and 3.51 xERA. He additionally struck out 10.78 hitters per nine innings and walked just 2.11 en route to posting a 3.2 WAR.
Flaherty’s results were mixed in the postseason as he made multiple strong starts but also endured some disastrous outings. His most effective starts came when Flaherty pitched on extended rest and didn’t face the same team multiple times.
Flaherty also has some pedigree as a top-tier starter dating back to 2018-2019 with the St. Louis Cardinals before suffering an injury that derailed his career a bit. Over the next four seasons, he pitched just 299 innings with 144.1 of them coming in 2023.
In that span, he posted a 4.42 ERA, which forced him to take a one-year prove it deal with the Tigers prior to the 2024 season. After betting on himself, Flaherty should receive a contract worth more than $100 million.
Jack Flaherty could sign long-term deal
Flaherty has been projected to sign for a deal of four to five years, but the widespread interest could help him land a sixth year.
Flaherty is projected to sign for five-years, $115 million by MLB trade rumors, giving him an average annual value of $23 million. A sixth year would put him around the $140 million range if that AAV holds.
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