The Atlanta Braves have been quiet this offseason. They recently signed outfielder Jurickson Profar to a three-year, $42 million contract, but haven’t done anything else.
Pitching is where they need the most help, specifically the starting rotation. They have Chris Sale, Spencer Strider and Reynaldo Lopez, but they did lose Max Fried and Charlie Morton, leaving sizable holes.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report proposed the idea of Atlanta taking a chance on right-hander Jack Flaherty, who just helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win another World Series title.
“It’s possible Alex Anthopoulos still has a key move or two left up his sleeve before the season begins. Plenty of respectable starting pitchers are still available in free agency—Jack Flaherty, Andrew Heaney, Max Scherzer, and Nick Pivetta, to name a few—and Atlanta is always a candidate to swing some trades,” said Miller.
Flaherty went 13-7 in 28 starts with a 3.17 ERA. He began the year with the Detroit Tigers and was traded to the Dodgers at the deadline.
With Fried and Morton both gone, Atlanta needs to shore up its rotation, and adding somebody like Flaherty who can generate swings and misses could give them a major boost as they try to return to the postseason for the eighth straight year in 2025.
Atlanta was eliminated by the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card Series, and without two key cogs in the rotation, holes need to filled.
If Flaherty can stay healthy, he can be one of baseball’s top pitchers, and he would significantly help Atlanta out in 2025.
It will be interesting to see if the Braves make him an offer.
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