One former member of the St. Louis Cardinals certainly will be a hot commodity this winter and will be one of the biggest dominos to fall.
Former Cardinals hurler Jack Flaherty had a massive bounce-back season with the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers this season and ended up with a World Series ring. Flaherty began the season with the Tigers on a one-year pillow contract after a roller coaster 2023 season.
Flaherty was traded to the Dodgers this summer and finished the season with a 3.17 ERA across 28 starts to go along with an eye-popping 194-to-38 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 162 innings pitched. The 29-year-old shined and now is going to get paid this winter in free agency.
MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams, Anthony Franco, Darragh McDonald, and Tim Dierkes ranked Flaherty as the eighth-best free agent this winter. Clearly, there will be plenty of teams that show interest in him, which could raise his price tag in a bidding war.
It’s too early to know what he will do, but MLB Trade Rumors predicted that he will get a $115 million deal and McDonald predicted that it would be with the New York Yankees.
” Jack Flaherty: Five years, $115MM,” MLB Trade Rumors posted. “Tim: Dodgers / Anthony: (Los Angeles Angels) / Darragh: Yankees / Steve: Tigers. As far as ‘prove-it’ deals go, Flaherty stands as one of the most successful cases in recent memory. The former first-round pick and top prospect went from one of the National League’s burgeoning young aces to an injury reclamation in a span of just a few years, as shoulder injuries derailed his momentum after a brilliant 2019 campaign…
“Both of Flaherty’s 2024 teams could pursue a reunion. The Dodgers and Tigers will both be in the mix for starters this winter. We know the Yankees had deadline interest. The same teams listed as viable suitors for (Corbin Burnes), (Blake Snell), and (Max Fried) all apply here, though it’s hard to imagine the (Baltimore Orioles) handing out a nine-figure deal after their trade for Flaherty didn’t pan out well in 2023. The contract we’re predicting is far enough below that top trio that some smaller-market clubs could plausibly join the (Boston Red Sox), (New York Mets), (San Francisco Giants), etc. in pursuit.”
This is just a hypothetical prediction, but it’s clear that Flaherty will be an interesting player to watch this winter.
