Fresh off a World Series championship, could a free agent starter who helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win a ring in 2024 be on the move to the San Francisco Giants?
A new report from Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller indicates that may be the case.
All eyes around Major League Baseball are currently watching what Rōki Sasaki’s going to do, but beyond Sasaki, there’s a 29-year-old former Detroit Tiger with the potential to add immense value to the rotation of the franchise that signs him, per Miller.
“Aside from Sasaki, Jack Flaherty is the biggest name still out there, and by a wide margin,” Miller said.
“There has been talk recently that he could be open to a shorter-term deal with opt-outs available, similar to what Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery signed very late last offseason.”
“By no means does that mean he’ll come cheap, though. It just might be a two-year, $48M contract ($24M AAV) instead of the five-year, $115M contract ($23M AAV) that MLB Trade Rumors projected at the beginning of the offseason, or the $21M salary on a three-year deal that Spotrac has projected as his market value.”
“So, who’s left that plausibly could make that much of an investment in the right-hander who had a remarkable bounce-back in 2024?”
“Perhaps the Giants, who missed out on Corbin Burnes and who made short-term, option-laden deals with both Snell and Matt Chapman last winter?”
“They theoretically have more than enough room to make it happen, and a planned six-man rotation might be for the best for them, given (Justin) Verlander’s age.”
“A return to Detroit might also be in play (for Flaherty), but the Tigers already have an estimated payroll $8M greater than where they opened last season and are arguably much more likely to spend big on Alex Bregman than Flaherty.”
“Beyond those two, the Mets and their limitless budget might be the only viable candidate. But can they sign both Flaherty and Pete Alonso? And do they feel like they need Flaherty after already re-signing Sean Manaea and adding Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes and Griffin Canning this winter?”
“Probably not, which is why San Francisco seems to make the most sense.”
Flaherty was selected with the No. 34 overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2014 MLB draft. He debuted with the Cardinals on September 1, 2017. He was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in 2023 before landing with the Tigers, and later the Dodgers.
More MLB: Dodgers teenage phenom called ‘one of the most tantalizing offensive prospects’
