"Jack Flaherty is going to get signed" – MLB analyst praises free agent’s confidence and honesty amidst offseason challenges

Jack Flaherty remains one of the biggest names on the open market after a strong bounceback season in 2024. The unrestricted free agent turned back the clock last season, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win their eighth World Series title in franchise history. Despite a strong season and championship under his belt, the veteran remains available in free agency.

Flaherty was excellent last season with the Detroit Tigers and the Dodgers, posting a 13-7 record with a 3.17 ERA, 1.086 WHIP and 194 strikeouts over 162.0 innings.

Despite not signing a deal yet in free agency, Flaherty is not exactly sitting around quietly. On Tuesday, the World Series champion pushed back against fans and experts on X who claimed that the Dodgers were ruining baseball.

After the team signed the likes of Roki Sasaki and Tanner Scott in recent weeks, the Dodgers have seemingly had an advantage in landing players, which Flaherty disagrees with.

This confidence and pushback from Jack Flaherty is something that MLB analyst Erik Kratz applauded on Wednesday's episode of Foul Territory.

"Jack Flaherty's going to get signed. He's above this. So, I give him so much credit for saying this because it's somebody that's living it right now and isn't afraid of the repercussions from it. ... He told the truth and that's it, and I love that," Kratz said of Flaherty's social media post.

It will be interesting to see if the social media post will help him secure a deal sooner rather than later or turn some teams off of him. Last offseason, Flaherty signed a one-year, $14 million deal with the Detroit Tigers. However, after a strong 2024 campaign, he may see that number jump and likely land a deal with more years attached.

Jack Flaherty is not the only other notable free-agent pitcher waiting on the market to heat up

Whether fans and experts agree with Jack Flaherty's social media post or not, there is no denying that there are still a number of impact veteran pitchers sitting on the open market looking for a deal. While it may be easy to blame the Los Angeles Dodgers for signing several players this offseason, it's equally reasonable to point fingers at other teams for not spending.

Players such as Max Scherzer, Kyle Gibson, Kenley Jansen, Patrick Corbin, Andrew Heaney, Jose Quintana and Nick Pivetta are some of the pitchers who have yet to secure a new contract this offseason.

While there is still plenty of time before Spring Training, it is rapidly approaching and these veteran pitchers tend to need more time to ramp up ahead of a long season.