BREAKING: Dodgers acquire best pitcher on the trade market
The Dodgers and Tigers have agreed on a trade that sends right-hander Jack Flaherty to Los Angeles, as reported by Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. The Tigers will receive catcher/first baseman Thayron Liranzo and shortstop Trey Sweeney in return, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. The Dodgers have officially announced the trade.
Flaherty, who turns 29 in October, has a 2.95 ERA in 18 starts this season and ranks fifth in all of baseball with a 32% strikeout rate among pitchers with at least 100 innings. He has also achieved a career-best 4.6% walk rate.
A first-round pick by the Cardinals a decade ago, Flaherty had a strong rookie season in 2018, finishing fifth in Rookie of the Year voting. He followed this with a fourth-place finish in NL Cy Young voting in 2019, highlighted by a 0.93 ERA over 16 starts.
Flaherty struggled during the shortened 2020 season and was limited to 78 1/3 innings in 2021 due to oblique and shoulder strains, with shoulder issues continuing into 2022, limiting him to 36 innings. Last season, he avoided the IL but was ineffective for the Cardinals and was traded to the Orioles, where he struggled and was moved to the bullpen before the season’s end.
Seeking to rebuild his value, Flaherty signed a one-year, $14M deal with the Tigers last December. Despite missing a few starts due to back pain, he has performed as an ace for the Tigers. With the team seven games out of the wild card, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris opted to trade Flaherty for a pair of prospects from the Dodgers instead of risking a qualifying offer and draft-pick compensation.
BREAKING: Jack Flaherty to the Dodgers.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 30, 2024
The Dodgers, needing a front-of-the-rotation arm with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the IL due to a triceps injury, hope Flaherty can fill that role alongside Tyler Glasnow. The Dodgers recently saw Clayton Kershaw make his season debut and have relied on Gavin Stone as a mainstay in their rotation. They also expect Yamamoto to return and Walker Buehler is on a rehab assignment for hip inflammation. With Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, and Emmet Sheehan out for the season, rookies Justin Wrobleski and River Ryan have been pushed into the rotation. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman also traded veteran starter James Paxton to the Red Sox last week.
The Dodgers, who have also added Kevin Kiermaier, Amed Rosario, Tommy Edman, and Michael Kopech in recent trades, were seeking an impact arm and were linked to Garrett Crochet of the White Sox. However, Crochet, who was not ultimately traded, had October availability concerns. Flaherty’s contract has about $4.67M remaining this year, which the Dodgers will pay with a 110% tax.
The Dodgers did not have to give up any of their top 100 prospects for Flaherty.
Thayron Liranzo, 21, has split his time between catcher and first base for the High-A Great Lakes Loons this year, posting a 106 wRC+ in 314 plate appearances after excelling in A-ball last year. Liranzo represented the Dodgers at the Futures Game earlier this month. MLB.com rates him as one of the best young catching prospects in baseball with above-average power and a below-average hit tool.
Trey Sweeney, 24, was drafted 20th overall by the Yankees in 2021 and was traded to the Dodgers last December for reliever Victor Gonzalez. Playing shortstop for Oklahoma City, Sweeney has an 87 wRC+ in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this year. MLB.com notes that he has “stayed at shortstop longer than most scouts expected.”
Despite the potential of the prospects, the return for Flaherty may seem underwhelming compared to trades for pitchers like Trevor Rogers and Yusei Kikuchi. Nonetheless, the first-place Dodgers have significantly strengthened their rotation for a push to return to the World Series for the first time in four years.
The Tigers’ rotation now relies heavily on Cy Young frontrunner Tarik Skubal, with Reese Olson on the IL with a shoulder injury. The Tigers did not trade Skubal but moved veterans Mark Canha, Andrew Chafin, and Carson Kelly along with Flaherty in the last two days.