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The Detroit Tigers and starter Jack Flaherty have made their reunion official, as the two parties agreed a two-year, $35,000,000 deal. Flaherty started the 2024 season in Detroit before being dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a rental move to compensate for the Dodgers' deteriorating depth in its pitching core.
After a productive stint in the West Coast that saw Flaherty post a 6-2 record with a 3.58 ERA for the Dodgers, the hurler has been brought back to Motor City to help Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and the squad make another playoff push.
In an interview with former New York Mets GM Steve Phillips, the former baseball executive predicted the Detroit Tigers' fortunes ahead of the 2025 season.
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"Detroit is in the mix," said Phillips. "Just like the Guardians, Twins, and Royals—it's a toss-up. Flaherty certainly helps the way I look at the Tigers," he added. (0:03 onwards)
"The Tigers making a win-now move is great for the game. We have a middle-market team who's willing to go all-in after surprising everyone when they made the playoffs last year."
Detroit Tigers' pitching depth heading into the new season
Spearheaded by American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, the Detroit Tigers are seeking a return to the postseason after a miracle run last year that saw them push the Cleveland Guardians to the limit in the ALDS.
Unlike other teams, though, A.J. Hinch's Tigers employed a different approach when it came to pitchers' utilization. Apart from Skubal that pitched 192 innings last year, Detroit purposefully sent out a committee during Skubal's days off to finish games. Overall, 21 Tigers pitchers finished with at least 20 innings pitched in the 2024 campaign with only one (that being Skubal), pitching more than 115 innings.
With the addition of Jack Flaherty, skipper A.J. Hinch is poised to deploy the same tactics in the 2025 season. Names like Reese Olson, Keider Montero and Casey Mize will be assigned to at least start games before Hinch sends out his battalion of bullpen arms led by Will Vest, Beau Briske, Tyler Holton and Jason Foley.
