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Rays Acquire Alex Faedo

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The Rays have acquired right-hander Alex Faedo from the Tigers, per announcements from both clubs.  Faedo had been designated for assignment by the Tigers last week when they signed Tommy Kahnle. The Rays are sending minor league catcher Enderson Delgado and cash to Detroit. Infielder Osleivis Basabe has been designated for assignment by the Rays in a corresponding move, which MLBTR covered here.

Getting Faedo, 29, is a buy-low move for the Rays. The Tigers grabbed him with the 18th overall pick in 2017 and Baseball America ranked the righty as the #50 prospect in the entire league going into 2018.

But the big league results haven’t matched up to that prospect billing just yet. Faedo has thrown 175 2/3 innings for the Tigers over the past three seasons, allowing 4.51 earned runs per nine. His 20.9% strikeout rate and 9.7% have both been a bit below league average. He is now out of options and would have had a hard time holding a roster spot in Detroit all year, so he got bumped off.

The Rays are seemingly more willing to carry Faedo on the roster, since they are giving up a prospect and cash to get him. Perhaps the hope is that Faedo is in the process of finding a home in the bullpen. He has worked as a starter and a reliever in his big league career, but with a 5.00 ERA out of the rotation and 3.44 ERA from the bullpen. His 22.6% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate as a reliever aren’t outstanding numbers, but better than his 20.2% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate as a starter.

Though he hasn’t had huge punchout stuff, he’s had some intriguing numbers in terms of limiting damage. His 34.4% hard hit rate allowed last year was in the 82nd percentile of qualified pitchers, according to Statcast. His barrel rate was in the 76th percentile and his average exit velocity 65th. His 2023 numbers in those categories were fairly similar.

His out-of-options status will make things a bit challenging for the Rays, a club that normally likes to rotate pitchers on and off the roster with regularity. RosterResource projects the club to run a six-man rotation of Shane McClanahan, Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot, Zack Littell, Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen. That leaves a seven-man bullpen consisting of Pete Fairbanks, Edwin Uceta, Garrett Cleavinger, Manuel Rodríguez, Mason Montgomery, Mike Vasil and Faedo. Montgomery is the only one of that relief group that can be optioned and RR has the out-of-options Cole Sulser listed in Triple-A as of this writing.

The roster might not shake out exactly like that, as spring performance and health can certainly change things, but there’s not a ton of flexibility in the relief group at the moment. But if the Rays manage to keep Faedo in the mix, there will be a long-term payoff. He has just under two years of service time at the moment, meaning he can be controlled for five seasons if he continues to hang onto his roster spot and hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration.

For the Tigers, losing Faedo probably stings a little bit, but at least they were able to recoup some potential future value out of a guy who got squeezed off the fringes of the roster. Delgado, 20, was an international signing of the Rays out of Venezuela. Back in July, Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice of FanGraphs ranked Delgado as the #37 prospect in the Rays’ system. That report suggests Delgado could carve out a future backup catching role based mostly on his defense, particularly his throwing arm.

The FanGraphs report gives less praise for his offense. He has slashed .215/.337/.322 over three minor league seasons, though he showed some improvement last year with a line of .259/.382/.400. Given his age and that he still hasn’t climbed higher than Single-A, he’ll be a long-term play for the Tigers.

Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that Faedo was going to the Rays for Delgado and cash, prior to the official announcements.

Mariners Re-Sign Jorge Polanco

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The Mariners are bringing back Jorge Polanco. They announced Monday that they’ve re-signed the veteran infielder to a one-year deal with a vesting/player option for the 2026 season. Polanco, an Octagon client, will reportedly be guaranteed $7.75MM. That comes in the form of a $7MM base salary in 2025 plus a $750K buyout on a mutual option. That mutual option can become a $6MM player option if Polanco reaches 450 plate appearances, and the option price would climb further, to $8MM, if he gets to 550 plate appearances. Polanco, who’ll move across the diamond and play third base for Seattle in 2025, can earn an additional $3.5MM worth of incentives. If he hits all of those incentives and picks up the player option, the contract would top out at $18.5MM over two seasons.

Polanco’s first season with the Mariners was a disappointment. Seattle acquired the switch-hitter from the Twins late last offseason. They expected him to provide a significant offensive boost in the infield. That didn’t pan out, as Polanco struggled through arguably the worst year of his career. He hit .213/.296/.355 with 16 home runs through 469 plate appearances. The batting average and on-base percentage were personal lows. The slugging percentage was only marginally above his career-worst .354 mark from the shortened 2020 season.

Before last season, Polanco had been one of the league’s more productive middle infielders. He combined for a .255/.333/.462 slash with a strong 10.1% walk rate in more than 1400 plate appearances over his final three seasons in Minnesota. Polanco had hit 33 homers back in 2021 and was an annual threat for 20 longballs and 30+ doubles. Polanco managed just 11 doubles during his first year in Seattle. He continued to draw walks at a solid 9.8% clip, but he struck out in more than 29% of his plate appearances.

Some of the offensive downturn is attributable to T-Mobile Park. Seattle plays in MLB’s most pitcher-friendly home stadium. Polanco had an especially difficult time at home. He hit .193/.284/.322 while striking out at a 31.9% clip in Seattle. His road production (.233/.308/.386 with a 26.7% strikeout rate) was better but still well below his previous standards.

Health may have been a bigger issue than the ballpark. Polanco underwent surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee within weeks of the season’s conclusion. He had reportedly played through discomfort for a good portion of the season. Polanco is expected to be ready for the start of Spring Training. The Mariners are as familiar as any team with his health history. They evidently believe that last year’s struggles were something of an aberration.

While he’s entering his 10th full season, Polanco is only 31. His relative youth provides some optimism that last year was mostly a health-related anomaly. That said, the whiffs have been a multiyear concern. Polanco’s strikeout rate has climbed by multiple percentage points in five straight seasons. In 2020, he fanned in just 15.5% of his plate appearances. That jumped successively to a 25.7% clip in his final season with the Twins, which climbed nearly four points more with the Mariners.

Polanco’s previous contract included a $12MM team option that came with a $750K buyout. Seattle declined that relatively easily. Four months later, they bring him back at a slightly lesser salary. It’s probably not a coincidence that the performance bonuses theoretically allow him to max out next year’s guarantee at $11.25MM — the differential below the option price and the buyout.

They’re not quite running things back, as Polanco’s return comes with a position change. He has been a middle infielder throughout his career. Polanco played shortstop until moving to second base in 2021. He didn’t play anywhere other than second base last season. His major league third base experience consists of 20 starts and 180 innings. Polanco has never been a great defensive second baseman. His range could be less of an issue at third, though that’ll put some pressure on his arm. Polanco didn’t show great arm strength at second base, though that’s not a direct comparison to throwing across the diamond — which he did during his time as a shortstop.

Seattle feels more comfortable with their internal options at second base than they do at the hot corner. That bodes well for 25-year-old Ryan Bliss, who is likely to get first crack at the second base job. Bliss debuted late last season and hit .222/.290/.397 in 33 games. A former second-round pick by the Diamondbacks, he had a quality .269/.377/.456 showing over 433 plate appearances with Triple-A Tacoma last year.

The M’s will likely give Bliss the bulk of the playing time while working utilityman Dylan Moore through the position. Seattle’s lone additional MLB free agent signing, Donovan Solano, can also play some second base (though he’ll get more work as a platoon partner for Luke Raley at first). Seattle didn’t have anyone established at third base after non-tendering Josh Rojas.

Seattle wasn’t the only team interested in expanding Polanco’s versatility. He reportedly drew interest from the Astros as a possibility at either third base or in left field. Polanco has seemingly been Houston’s primary fallback if they don’t re-sign Alex Bregman. They no longer need a third baseman after landing Isaac Paredes in the Kyle Tucker deal, but they’re still hunting for a left fielder and would like to re-sign Bregman. That’d push Paredes to second and Jose Altuve to left field.

Seattle has reportedly had around $15-20MM in payroll space this winter. Solano and Polanco have accounted for just over $11MM, leaving a few million for a potential bench bat or middle relief pickup. RosterResource calculates their 2025 player payroll around $152MM.

Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome of The Athletic first reported that Polanco and the Mariners had an agreement. Rosenthal was first to report the $7.75MM guarantee and the move to third base. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reported that it was a one-year deal with a vesting/player option. Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reported the $3.5MM in incentives. Jon Heyman of the New York Post provided the more detailed financial breakdown. Image courtesy of Imagn.

Rays Designate Osleivis Basabe For Assignment

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The Rays announced Monday that they’ve designated infielder Osleivis Basabe for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to newly acquired righty Alex Faedo, whose previously reported trade from Detroit to Tampa Bay has now been formally announced by the clubs.

Basabe, 24, made his big league debut with Tampa Bay in 2023, which now stands as his lone season with MLB work. He appeared in 31 games and tallied 94 plate appearances, hitting .218/.277/.310 during that span. It certainly wasn’t a great debut effort, but the .296/.351/.426 slash (95 wRC+) Basabe had posted in Triple-A Durham was a good bit more encouraging — particularly for someone whom scouting reports praise as a solid defender at either position on the left side of the infield.

The 2024 campaign, however, saw Basabe take a step back in virtually every meaningful category. Those offensive rate stats plummeted to .248/.293/.336 in Triple-A — a drop that left him about 36% worse than league-average at the plate, by measure of wRC+. His walk rate fell from 7.3% to 4.9% as his strikeout rate climbed from 15.5% to 18%. Basabe averaged 89 mph with a 39.7% hard-hit rate with Durham in 2023 but was only at 86.3 mph and 31.3%, respectively, in 2024.

Though Basabe’s 2024 season was nightmarish, he’s only a year removed from ranking as a top-10 prospect in a strong Rays system. He also has a minor league option remaining, so any team that acquires him would be able to send him to the minors without first needing to pass him through waivers. He’s capable of playing any of shortstop, third base or second base, which should add to his appeal. Basabe hits from the right side but has traditionally had more consistent offensive production in right-on-right matchups than he has versus lefties.

The Rays will have five days to trade Basabe. At that point, he’d need to be placed on waivers, as outright waivers are 48-hour process themselves and the maximum window for a DFA to be resolved is one week.

Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Yankees, Carlos Carrasco Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran righty Carlos Carrasco, reports Jack Curry of the YES Network. Presumably, he’ll be in camp as a non-roster invitee this month. Carrasco, who’s represented by ACES, would earn $1.5MM if he makes the roster and can push that salary to $2.5MM via incentives, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Carrasco, 38 in March, spent the 2024 season with the Guardians after returning to Cleveland on a minor league pact last offseason. He was hit hard for a second straight season, following up on 2023’s 6.80 ERA (90 innings) with a 5.64 ERA in 103 2/3 frames. Carrasco’s 91.6 mph average four-seamer and 91.1 mph average sinker, per Statcast, were both career-low marks.

Carrasco, of course, was one of the game’s premier starters during his peak in Cleveland, finishing fourth in 2017 American League Cy Young voting. From 2014-18, he tossed 856 innings of 3.27 ERA ball with plus strikeout and walk rates. He ranked seventh among all pitchers in FanGraphs’ wins above replacement metric during that span and was sixth among all qualified pitchers in terms of the differential between his strikeout and walk rates (22.6 K-BB%).

At this stage of his career, Carrasco is no longer a borderline ace and is a pure depth addition for the Yankees. His last productive season came with the Mets in 2022, when he tossed 152 innings of 3.97 ERA ball with a strong 23.6% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate.

Carrasco has had an ERA of 5.64 or worse in three of the past four seasons, but he still shows good command and misses bats at a passable enough level to think he could produce better results. He’s been far too homer-prone, however, which doesn’t necessarily bode well for a fit in Yankee Stadium — though he’s actually been far more susceptible to long balls versus righties than versus left-handed opponents.

The Yankees’ rotation is already deep enough that the club has traded Nestor Cortes and is likely to move Marcus Stroman if general manager Brian Cashman can find a trade partner. Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt will take the top five spots in the roster. Stroman and his $18.5MM salary are on the trade block. Other depth options on the 40-man roster include JT Brubaker, waiver claim Allan Winans and prospects Will Warren, Clayton Beeter and Yoendrys Gomez.

Rangers, Sam Haggerty Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers have agreed to a minor league contract with utilityman Sam Haggerty, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The BHSC client will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Haggerty, 30, was non-tendered by the Mariners back in November. He suffered a torn Achilles tendon while running down a flyball with the team’s Triple-A affiliate last May, which unsurprisingly proved to be a season-ending injury.

The switch-hitting Haggerty spent parts of five seasons with the Mariners, plus a very brief MLB debut with the Mets organization (four plate appearances) back in 2019. He’s a career .232/.312/.351 hitter in 477 trips to the plate, including a career-best .255/.345/.382 (113 wRC+) in 309 plate appearances with Seattle from 2022-23.

Haggerty is lacking in power but makes up for that with plus speed and a good bit of versatility. Statcast credited him with 92nd percentile sprint speed (29.2 ft/sec) as recently as 2023, and Haggerty boasts a career 33-for-36 (91.7%) mark in stolen base attempts in the majors. He’s played all three outfield spots and each of first base, second base and third base in the big leagues as well. The bulk of his time has been spent in the outfield — left field, specifically — and he’s drawn solid grades for his glovework there. Haggerty is best-suited for the short side of a platoon; despite his switch-hitting status, he’s just a .209/.278/.272 hitter as a lefty but carries a sharp .263/.355/.452 output when batting from the right side of the plate.

Given that Haggerty has spent the past half decade in the AL West, the Rangers have seen him plenty. He’ll give Texas some depth around the diamond but particularly in the outfield, where Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Adolis Garcia are slated to start and veteran Leody Taveras is projected to be the fourth outfielder. (Of course, Taveras stands as a viable trade candidate, which could improve Haggerty’s chances of making the roster.) If Haggerty does crack the big league club, he’s at 4.036 years of MLB service, making him controllable at least through 2026.

Brewers, Tyler Jay Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers are re-signing left-handed reliever Tyler Jay to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Jay was with the Brewers organization at the end of the season but was lost on waivers to the Mariners early last month. Seattle passed him through waivers themselves a few weeks later, and Jay declined an outright assignment in favor of free agency after going unclaimed.

Jay, 31 in April, was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 draft but saw the early stages of his pro career with the Twins decimated by injuries. He battled shoulder and neck problems throughout his first few seasons in pro ball and was at one point evaluated for potential thoracic outlet syndromes but never wound up requiring surgery. The Reds picked Jay up in exchange for cash in 2019 after the Twins designated him for assignment, but he never reached the majors in Cincinnati either.

From 2020-22, Jay was out of affiliated ball entirely. He returned to a mound with the independent Joliet Slammers in 2022-23 and caught the eye of the Mets, who inked him on a minor league deal. The Mets eventually gave Jay his MLB debut this past season at age 30. He split time between Queens and Milwaukee after the Mets designated him for assignment and flipped him to the Brewers in exchange for minor leaguer TJ Shook.

It was only 7 2/3 innings in the big leagues between the two teams this past season, but the fact that Jay even reached the majors at all is fairly remarkable, given his career arc and the significant injury woes he dealt with in the years after the draft. He yielded four runs on nine hits and six walks with six strikeouts during his brief big league time and also excelled in Triple-A; in 56 2/3 innings of Triple-A work between the two organizations, he logged a 3.02 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate, 5.1% walk rate and 47.3% grounder rate.

Jay doesn’t throw all that hard, sitting at about 92 mph with his sinker and four-seamer, per Statcast. He’s a former top pick who now appears healthy on the heels of a nice upper-minors showing, however, and despite his age and the amount of time he’s spent in the minors, he still has a pair of option years remaining. If the Brewers wind up adding him to the 40-man at any point, he can be a flexible bullpen piece for manager Pat Murphy.

The Brewers aren’t hurting for left-handed relief options. They have Jared Koenig, Bryan Hudson, DL Hall, Aaron Ashby, Grant Wolfram and Rule 5 pick Connor Thomas all on the 40-man roster. That said, Koenig and Hudson only have one season of big league success under their belts (2024 with the Brewers), while Hall, Ashby and Wolfram could work as starters in Triple-A Nashville. Thomas is hardly a lock to make the roster, as is the case with most Rule 5 picks.

Tigers Still Pursuing Bregman After Flaherty Agreement

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The Tigers made their biggest strike of the offseason last night, agreeing to terms with right-hander Jack Flaherty on a two-year deal that allows him to opt back into free agency at season’s end. He’ll be paid $25MM in 2025 and has a $10MM player option for the 2026 season (that increases to $20MM if he makes 15 starts). Even with that fairly pricey pact in place, the Tigers aren’t closing the door on the other marquee free agent they’ve been chasing. ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that Detroit still in pursuit of third baseman Alex Bregman even after signing Flaherty. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press hears the same, writing that the Tigers have “conducted their offseason moves around their interest in signing Bregman,” ultimately passing on several right-handed bats in whom they also had interest (Christian Walker, switch-hitter Anthony Santander, and Ha-Seong Kim).

With Flaherty on the books, the Tigers’ 2025 payroll projects out to about $142MM, per RosterResource’s estimates. They’re up to $156MM in luxury obligations. That leaves them more than $50MM shy of the franchise-record $200MM player payroll and $85MM shy of the $241MM tax threshold. There’s room to accommodate Bregman, be it on a higher-annual value short-term deal with opt-outs or on the type of long-term, six- or seven-year pact he’s been seeking throughout free agency. The only Tigers guaranteed any salary beyond the 2025 season are Flaherty and infielders Colt Keith and Javier Baez. It’s possible — if not likely — that Flaherty will turn down that player option and head back to the market. Baez owed $25MM in 2025 and $24MM in both 2026-27. Keith is owed just over $24MM total through the 2029 season.

Suffice it to say, there’s ample long-term payroll space available if the Tigers decide that a late agreement with Bregman is the optimal finishing piece to an active winter. Adding Bregman would likely mean optioning top prospect Jace Jung to Triple-A Toledo to begin the season, but he’d be a depth option at either third or second in the event of an injury to Bregman or fellow free agent signee Gleyber Torres. Matt Vierling would presumably spend the bulk of his time in right field, though he could spell Bregman at the hot corner when he needs a breather or perhaps gets a rest day at designated hitter.

Any deal between the Tigers and Bregman would surely be the largest pact ever issued under president of baseball operations Scott Harris. In two-plus years on the job — a portion of it still at least partially in rebuild mode — Harris hasn’t gone beyond a two-year guarantee for a free agent. Flaherty and Kenta Maeda are the only two free agents Detroit has signed for two years under Harris, and no free agent has received more than Flaherty’s $35MM guarantee. The Tigers went six years on their extension with Keith, but he’d yet to even make his MLB debut and received a $28.6425MM guarantee.

Bregman reportedly has multiple six-year offers — one from the Astros (valued at at least $156MM) and one from another interested party that is said to contain an opt-out after year one. The Blue Jays have been suggested as the other team, though it’s not expressly clear that they’ve done so (nor is the value of the other six-year offer known). Beyond the Astros, Tigers and Jays, both the Cubs and Red Sox have been involved in Bregman’s market. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score in Chicago reports that as of yesterday afternoon, the Cubs are still in active talks with Bregman’s camp as well. That’s not really a new development, of course, but it’s further indication that none of the five clubs reported to be in pursuit of Bregman has fully backed down as of yet.

The Opener: Tigers, Pivetta, Arbitration

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With the calendar now flipped to February, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. What’s next for the Tigers?

After catching fire down the stretch in order to win 86 games, make the playoffs, and fight their way to Game 5 of the ALDS against the Guardians, the Tigers have been fairly active this winter as they’ve added Alex Cobb, Gleyber Torres, and Tommy Kahnle. Yesterday they made their biggest splash yet by bringing Jack Flaherty back into the fold on a $35MM guarantee. Flaherty, whom the club traded to the Dodgers ahead of last year’s deadline, will earn $25MM in 2025 and have the opportunity to opt out of one year and $10MM after the season.

With the right-hander rejoining Tarik Skubal at the top of the Tigers’ rotation, is there more in store for Detroit this winter? The Tigers have been one of the teams most frequently connected to third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency this winter, though recent reporting has suggested that talks between the sides are at a “standstill.” Looking beyond Bregman, first baseman Spencer Torkelson appears to be a plausible trade chip given the fact that signing Torres kicked incumbent sec0nd baseman Colt Keith over to first base for the 2025 campaign. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco took a look at plausible landing spots for Torkelson, should the Tigers decide to move him, last week.

2. Will Pivetta’s market begin to move?

Right-hander Nick Pivetta declined a qualifying offer from the Red Sox at the outset of the offseason, but since then there’s been little to say about his market. The Blue Jays were connected to him earlier this offseason, and there’s been some reporting that’s suggested the Padres could have interest if they end up trading Dylan Cease and creating additional budget space. The soon-to-be 32-year-old has hardly been a part of the offseason rumor mill despite being one of the best pitchers remaining on the market since the rush of starting pitching signings during the Winter Meetings. Now that Flaherty has signed and Pivetta is the highest-ranked free agent starter still available on MLBTR’s Top 50 MLB Free Agents list, could his market begin to show signs of life?

3. More arbitration deals on the horizon?

Johan Oviedo and Dennis Santana of the Pirates, Mickey Moniak of the Angels, and Mark Leiter Jr. of the Yankees are the four players to have already gone to an arbitration hearing against their clubs this winter. Of that quartet, only Moniak has emerged victorious. Five players players are still scheduled to face their team in a hearing over the next two weeks: Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, and Andre Pallante of the Cardinals as well as Nathaniel Lowe of the Nationals and Luis Rengifo of the Angels.

It’s possible, however, that some of those players could agree to deals with their clubs in order to avoid the hearing entirely. Kyle Tucker, Michael King, and William Contreras are among the notable players to avoid arbitration with their clubs in recent weeks, all coming to terms on one-year guarantees after initially exchanging figures with their teams. (King and Contreras have a mutual and club option, respectively.) Will the final five players make it to a hearing, or reach an agreement before then?

Tigers Sign Jack Flaherty

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Jack Flaherty is returning to the Motor City, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan (multiple links) reports that the right-hander has signed a two-year deal with the Tigers worth $35MM in guaranteed money.  The frontloaded deal pays Flaherty $25MM in 2025, and he can opt out of the second year of the contract this fall to re-enter free agency.  Flaherty will earn at least $10MM in 2026, though he can unlock up to an additional $10MM in incentive bonuses if he makes 15 starts this season.  The deal will become official once Flaherty passes a physical, and the right-hander is represented by CAA Sports.

The new contract is a healthy increase over the one-year, $14MM deal Flaherty signed with Detroit in December 2023, as the righty was looking to rebuild his value after a few injury-marred and inconsistent seasons with the Cardinals and Orioles.  Flaherty got himself back on track in impressive fashion, delivering a 2.95 ERA over 18 starts and 106 2/3 innings for the Tigers before he was dealt to the Dodgers at the trade deadline.

Now pitching for his hometown team, Flaherty had a 3.58 ERA in 55 1/3 regular-season innings for L.A. and had a couple of big moments in the playoffs, most notably seven shutout innings against the Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS.  After capturing his first World Series ring, Flaherty headed into the open market in search of a lucrative long-term deal, bolstered by his 2024 production and unencumbered by a qualifying offer.

MLBTR rated Flaherty eighth on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, projecting that he’d land a five-year, $115MM contract as he entered his age-29 season.  Even as other pitchers exceeded salary expectations, Flaherty’s market remained relatively cold, and he said in an interview on the Foul Territory podcast just over a week ago that he had received little in the way of formal contract offers.  A couple of weeks ago, reports suggested that Flaherty was open to the type of shorter-term deal with an opt-out that he ended up signing for his second stint in a Tigers uniform.

The Mets, Cubs, Red Sox, Giants, Blue Jays, and Orioles were all linked to Flaherty at various points during the offseason, and reports of Detroit’s interest in a reunion first surfaced back in early December.  Flaherty noted during his Foul Territory interview that he “wanted to stay in Detroit” before the deadline trade, and “loved” his previous time with the team, particularly pitching alongside Tarik Skubal in the rotation.

It could be that Flaherty lingered this long on the open market because teams wanted to see more than just his 2024 season before being sold on a longer-term commitment.  Injury concerns may have been a factor, as the Yankees pulled out of a planned deal to acquire Flaherty at the deadline after looking at his medical records.  Apart from one skipped start due to a bad back, Flaherty was otherwise pretty healthy in 2024, avoiding the injured list and tossing 184 combined innings during the regular season and postseason.  His average fastball velocity was a modest 93.3mph, however, and he lost some velo later in the season after the trade.

Looking elsewhere on the Statcast page, Flaherty posted an excellent 29.9% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate, along with strong hard-contact and chase rates to go along with his 3.17 combined ERA with Detroit and Los Angeles.  It was the kind of form that Flaherty hadn’t shown over a full season since 2019, when he finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting while pitching with the Cardinals.

It is relatively uncommon to see a player get dealt by a team at the trade deadline and then re-sign with that same team the following offseason, yet the way this scenario played out, the Tigers’ decision to move Flaherty couldn’t have worked out much better.  Detroit received prospects Trey Sweeney and Thayron Liranzo from the Dodgers, and Sweeney already made an impact by becoming the Tigers’ regular shortstop down the stretch.  Unlike most deadline sellers, the Tigers caught fire late in the season and made an improbable playoff run, going 31-13 over their last 44 games to win a wild card berth, and Detroit then upset the Astros in the Wild Card Series before taking the Guardians to the full five games in the ALDS.

After relying on the “pitching chaos” strategy for much of that run, the Tigers’ rotation looks a lot more stable heading into 2025.  Flaherty and fellow new signing Alex Cobb join Skubal, Reese Olson as pitchers with set rotation spots, and the list of fifth starter candidates includes the likes of Kenta Maeda, Casey Mize, Jackson Jobe and Matt Manning.  Detroit might well keep this entire group to guard against injuries, but there’s enough depth here that the Tigers could consider trading a starter to address another primary need, like relief pitching or a right-handed bat.

Among Detroit’s primary free agent signings this winter, Cobb, Gleyber Torres, and Tommy Kahnle all signed one-year contracts and Flaherty’s deal might also end up as a one-year pact should he exercise his opt-out clause.  Even if Flaherty passes on his opt-out, all these signings fit president of baseball operations Scott Harris’ preferred model of shorter-term contracts.  This isn’t to say that the Tigers haven’t at least explored longer-term deals (i.e. their ongoing pursuit of Alex Bregman), but focusing on just short-term upgrades has allowed the club to keep its financial powder dry for a bigger splash in the future.  Flaherty, Colt Keith, and Javier Baez are the only Tigers players guaranteed money beyond the 2025 season.

While naturally Flaherty would’ve preferred to have locked down a pricey long-term deal already, another quality season will surely line up nicely for such a contract next winter, even if a full year with the Tigers would make him eligible for a qualifying offer.  In the interim, he’ll bank at least a $25MM payday, and pitch in a comfortable and familiar environment on what looks to be a contending team.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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