Detroit Tigers Urged to Trade Star Pitcher to Los Angeles Dodgers

The Detroit Tigers have reportedly been fielding calls on right-hander Jack Flaherty entering the trade deadline. Flaherty, who took a one-year, $14 million prove-it deal with the Tigers, should be one of the hottest names on the market this offseason.

With him hitting free agency at the end of the year, moving him at the deadline doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Sure, they have a chance to make the postseason, but if a team wants to give up solid prospects in return, why not capitalize on that? The postseason, at this point, is still somewhat of a pipedream.

If Detroit ends up trading him, they should only do so if they get back a package they’re comfortable with. If not, they should continue to let him show his worth and pay him in the offseason.

He’s pitched better than a No. 3, but even if he regresses a bit, the Tigers could have an excellent mid-level rotation arm if they re-signed him for the foreseeable future.

Despite the reasons to keep him, the chances of him being traded seem high. The question now is more of where he’s going to be traded.

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN believes he found a spot, urging the Los Angeles Dodgers to trade for the California native.

“If they were all healthy, the Dodgers wouldn’t need a starting pitcher. But when was the last time their rotation had anything approaching full health? They need some certainty for this group as they begin to think about postseason roster construction.

“Flaherty, a SoCal native, has thrown like an ace this season for Detroit, matching a career-best strikeout rate with a career-low walk rate, and he has been consistent. He also has a lot to prove after things went south in Baltimore when he was dealt at last year’s deadline, especially since he’s in a walk year. Talent, motivation and production is a pretty good combo.”

When talking about trading with the Dodgers, it’s important to recognize the type of talent they have in their farm system. With multiple high-level prospects, there might not be a better team in baseball to trade with.

Factor in that Los Angeles is in a win-now situation, and the chances of them even overpaying for a rental arm could be high.

His 2.95 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 106 2/3 innings pitched should have contending teams flooding Detroit’s phones. Whether it’s the Dodgers or any other team, taking the best package should be the priority.