The Los Angeles Dodgers were one of the most active teams in baseball ahead of the trade deadline and added an ace to the rotation.
Jack Flaherty landed a one-year deal ahead of the 2024 Major League Baseball season with the Detroit Tigers as he looked to bounce back. He did much more than that and shined. Flaherty was traded to Los Angeles ahead of the deadline.
Overall, Flaherty appeared in 28 games with the Tigers and Dodgers in the regular season and had a 3.17 ERA and an eye-popping 194-to-38 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 162 innings pitched. Flaherty was dominant, and he's going to cash in this winter.
He will be one of the best free-agent starting pitchers and is projected to get a deal worth $121 million over six years by Spotrac.
Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer put together a list of the top free agent starting pitchers with possible landing spots and had Flaherty at No. 4 and had the New York Yankees on the list of "potential fits."
"This year mercifully brought redemption, and in such a way that suggests Flaherty may yet have a sustained run as a top-of-the-rotation starter," Rymer said. "Fueled by a reinvigorated fastball and one of the better curveballs in the league, the righty finished in the top 10 among qualified starters in strikeout-to-walk ratio. He gave up three earned runs or fewer in 23 of his 28 starts...
"He could be in for Eduardo Rodriguez money, a la four years and $80 million. And if his market really picks up, it's a short leap from there to nine figures. Potential Fits: San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, New York Yankees."
Los Angeles should consider bringing Flaherty back but it will have competition. New York was linked to him as well ahead of the trade deadline and could be stiff competition.
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