As we approach the month of February, a handful of notable free agents remain available.
One of those is Jack Flaherty — the 29-year-old pitcher coming off a World Series title with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Flaherty would essentially be billed as a mid-tier pitching free agent. He wasn’t in the class of Blake Snell or Corbin Burnes. Having said that, there’s still value present in a guy who won multiple playoff games in 2024.
On Friday morning, Flaherty posted several cryptic memes without any context to his social media accounts. Being an LA native, he loved his time with the Dodgers. The Dodgers are waiting on pins and needles to see whether they indeed are the chosen destination for Japanese starlet Roki Sasaki.
One report indicates that Sasaki is down to the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. How does this all tie into Flaherty? Well, depending on where Sasaki signs, Flaherty’s status as an unsigned player could end quickly.
He’s said to be willing to take a smaller deal with a higher AAV — presumably with outs that’ll enable Flaherty to reenter the market. Should the Dodgers not land Sasaki, pivoting to Flaherty seems like the prudent thing to do. At the same time, this could be the scenario Flaherty is waiting on.
Flaherty had a good regular season (13-7, 3.17 ERA) in a ‘prove it’ year for the Dodgers and the Detroit Tigers. With LA suffering a host of injuries to its rotation, Flaherty assumed the role of the team’s ace throughout its playoff run. The playoff performance was the quintessential definition of a mixed bag.
In Game 2 of the NLDS, Flaherty allowed 4 ER in 5 IP (including 2 HRs) in an eventual 10-2 loss to the San Diego Padres. He bounced back in Game 1 of the NLCS versus the New York Mets — tossing seven shutout innings allowing only two hits and striking out six hitters. In Game 5 of the same series, he was thoroughly dominated — giving up eight earned runs in 3.0 IP.
When the Dodgers got to the World Series, Flaherty tossed a gem in Game 1. He held the Yankees to five hits and only two earned runs through 5.1 IP (striking out six). In the decisive Game 5 win, he managed to go only 1.1 IP while allowing 4 ER.
In no way would Flaherty be anywhere close to a top arm in this year’s projected rotation. Assuming Clayton Kershaw re-signs and Sasaki ends up elsewhere, the Dodgers are tentatively rolling with Kershaw, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow.
Flaherty would be a solid No. 3 starter on most teams. The possibility he could be a No. 5 starter for the Dodgers speaks to the talent the team has stockpiled. Should Sasaki end up becoming a member of the Boys in Blue, we’d expect Flaherty to sign with another ballclub in short order. By that point, he’d be the best starting pitcher available in a league starved for credible starting pitching.
