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F1’s Carlos Sainz embraces final races as a Ferrari driver: “No one can take that away”

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F1’s Carlos Sainz embraces final races as a Ferrari driver: “No one can take that away”

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MONZA, Italy — Carlos Sainz didn’t shy away from admitting that the Italian Grand Prix weekend would be an emotional one.

The week leading up to Ferrari’s home grand prix is one of the busiest for Sainz and his team, who face extra pressure to perform. It can be easy to be caught up in the day-to-day grind: marketing, media and sponsor commitments, engineering meetings and greeting fans, to name a few. Hundreds of people wait just beyond the gates of the Ferrari drivers’ hotel, he says, for a shot at getting a photo, an autograph or just to cheer for them.

When entering weekends like this, racing at Monza, Sainz tries to be more present.

“More often than not, I end up probably in a loop where you just think that what you’re living is normal because it feels normal and standard now after four years of being a Ferrari driver,” Sainz said to The Athletic. “It’s very easy to take everything for granted and think that having all that people there is normal, that the racing in Monza is normal, that it becomes a job and it becomes a routine.”

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But his perspective on weekends like this can shift into appreciation. After all, Sainz turned 30 recently. He’s spent 10 years on the grid, and the Singapore Grand Prix will mark his 200th career grand prix. He joined the Formula One grid in 2015 and became a Ferrari driver in 2021. He secured his first pole position and win with the Prancing Horse, amassing five pole positions, 21 podium finishes and three victories over the four seasons with the Maranello-based crew. And at season’s end, Sainz will close this chapter and head to Grove, England, to join Williams.

But for now, he’s focused on where his feet are.

“Going to so many races that we are doing nowadays, it’s very easy to fall into feeling that everything feels very routinary,” he continued about the Italian GP weekend. “So I try to extract myself from that feeling and try to really be appreciative, and always try and tell myself what Carlos, when he was 11, 12, 13 years old, would have thought.

“If you would tell him that now I would be living these moments, I’m sure he wouldn’t have believed it, and he would be enjoying it and trying to embrace it as much as possible.”

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Weathering a ‘roller coaster’ season

Sainz describes himself as a “short-term thinker,” focusing on the next race or year. Becoming a Ferrari driver is a dream for most competitors — if not all — in the sport, given it is one of the most successful F1 teams.

While competing for Toro Rosso (now known as RB), he formed a good relationship with the Italian mechanics and engineers. He said, “I knew they were putting in a good word about me to the Italian engineers in Ferrari because they normally fly together because the bases are only an hour away from each other. And then I remember thinking, maybe one day I can be a Ferrari driver.”


Sainz won’t close the door on a Ferrari reunion someday. (Sipa USA)

It happened in 2021, four years after his Toro Rosso chapter. One of his first memories with Ferrari happened at a special track to the team and company — Fiorano Circuit. It is a figure-eight track where Ferrari tests the cars, located near the factory in Maranello. Sainz remembers putting on the red suit and hopping into the red car, his father (a well-known and successful rally car champion) watching on.

“I saw him, a little tear falling down his eye when they told me when I left the pits in Fiorano for my first install lap in red,” Sainz said. “That is a memory that I will never forget.”

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Sainz’s most successful seasons happened during this Ferrari chapter, the first top team he has competed for. The 2024 season marked the last of his two-year agreement, and he thrives on stability. Before Christmas last winter, Sainz expressed that his priority was to remain with the Prancing Horse. There seemed to be little reason to doubt Ferrari would extend his and Charles Leclerc’s contracts, keeping together one of the sport’s most consistently competitive driver duos.

But then came February 1, 2024.

News broke that Lewis Hamilton would join the Italian team in 2025, replacing Sainz and throwing the Spaniard’s future into question. He became the hottest name on the driver market, but the silly season wore on through much of 2024. To this day, Sainz still describes this year as a “roller coaster,” touching on the high of winning in Australia (16 days after surgery for appendicitis) and figuring out his future in the sport.

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“What I’ve been through this year is not ideal to perform at your highest level as an athlete,” Sainz said at Monza. “I think every driver that wants to perform at its highest level wants to have their future sorted and not have to worry about that, while having to perform in a Formula One season, in a team that already has a lot of pressure and a lot of attention and high tension environment like (at) Ferrari.”

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But Sainz keeps showing up each weekend, knowing Hamilton will replace him at season’s end. Looking back over the campaign, he said he’s proud of how he handled the first half of the season “given everything that I had to go through and how relatively well the season went.

“But I do believe there’s lap time in the athlete when everything is a bit calmer.”

Sainz says it requires one’s full attention and effort to be competitive in this sport. He pours all of his training, time and thinking into racing and feels that has helped him win races and perform at the level he has in recent years.

“That’s why I say that is so critical, also, to make sure that you have everything under control.”


Sainz raced his final Italian GP with Ferrari last weekend. (Lars Baron/Getty Images)

‘No hard feelings’ as Williams era beckons

Williams’ pursuit of Sainz began at the end of 2023 at the Abu Dhabi GP, team boss James Vowles confirmed in late July after announcing that the Spaniard would join the Grove-based team. Vowles’s message to Sainz remained the same.

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“From the beginning, I gave him warts and all: ‘Here’s what’s going to happen, we are going to go backwards, here’s why, here’s what we’re investing in, here’s what’s coming, here’s why I’m excited by this project – and it’s your choice, very much, if you want to be a part of it,” Vowles said. “‘But I know that we will have success in the future and I know it’s going to cost us in the short term.’ And I’m confident that that honesty and transparency has paid off.”

Sainz has learned over his F1 career to trust his gut feeling about people. It dates back to his McLaren days, where he secured two podium finishes in the same number of seasons. He said, “I remember I’ve never enjoyed so much competing as I did my years in McLaren with Lando (Norris), with Andrea Stella, and we did (have) a very strong team. And I remember leaving that team thinking I want to go to Ferrari and perform there, but I think this team is going to be successful in the future.”

Three years later, Sainz was right. McLaren is challenging Red Bull for the constructors’ championship, the gap sitting at just eight points. The people component and belief in future success carried weight when deciding to join the rebuilding Williams team. Something that motivates him is how he’ll be able to help the project progress.

“I want to feel listened (to). I want to feel like I can help,” Sainz said in Zandvoort. “And this, in a historical team like Williams, when they have a clear vision and super committed to bringing the team back to the front with very clear investment partners, it’s something that was important for me.”

Sainz may be heading to an English team next season, but he’s not fully closing the door on Ferrari. And it’s not a surprise. He said their relationship didn’t break – the separation is “circumstantial.”

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“The fact that I’m leaving at the end of the year, I think there is nothing really that is wrong with me and Ferrari,” he continued. “A seven-time world champion happened to want to come to Ferrari in the last years of his career, and I had to move aside and to obviously leave my space to Lewis. I have no hard feelings regarding that.

“I have probably still five to 10 years of career in front of me. So why would I close the door to a potential comeback?”

‘Always a Ferrari driver’

As Sainz climbed the pit wall and peeked through the wire fencing, the crowds dressed in rosso corsa cheered. Leclerc won the Italian Grand Prix that weekend, but it was possible in part thanks to Sainz.

Sainz critically helped Leclerc and Ferrari win on home turf by holding up Piastri. The Australian pitted on lap 38 out of 53, gaining quickly as the race wore on. But for him to catch Leclerc, Piastri needed to pass several backmarkers and Sainz. After the race, he said he knew the McLaren driver was gaining on him and what was at stake.

“I did my best to slow him down one lap. Then obviously, he was a second and a half quicker at that stage, so around Monza, it’s not like you can do much more than one lap.”

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It ended up being enough. Sainz didn’t finish on the podium, but Piastri ended his day in second, 2.664 seconds off of Leclerc.


Sainz didn’t make the podium but helped ensure a Ferrari victory. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)

“It’s been an incredible weekend for me. I’ve enjoyed it a lot. It’s a shame not to be on the podium today. At the same time, I feel like today was a bit of a coin toss whether to stay out or not, get it right,” Sainz said. “Charles has nailed it together with the team. With me, if we wanted to be in that fight, we probably would have needed to stay in the train with the cars ahead after the first pit stop. We just lost the chance of a podium there.

“Honestly, very happy to see the team winning here this weekend. I wish I was there up there with the podium with Charles, but I think he deserves the win more than anyone today, so congrats.”

The Spaniard may be leaving the team at season’s end, but at least part of the Ferrari faithful likely will continue following his career. Sebastian Vettel once said, “Everybody’s a Ferrari fan. Even if they say they’re not, they are a Ferrari fan.” The same could be said for past Ferrari drivers. They may not wear the rosso corsa race suit but will always be part of Ferrari.

“There are many examples in the grid or in the past where every time there’s been a Ferrari driver that obviously has had also success, but also a good relationship with the tifosi, has then been remembered and has been treated really well from the tifosi all around the world, wherever they go,” Sainz said.

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“I do believe that’s my case also. That’s why I’ve always said that once you’re a Ferrari driver, you’re always a Ferrari driver. No one can take that away from you. I’ve had the pleasure of doing it for the last four years, and yeah, I’m gonna enjoy it as much as I can.”

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Top photo: Sipa USA

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Hate ’em if you want, but Chiefs make no apologies while continuing pursuit of history

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Hate ’em if you want, but Chiefs make no apologies while continuing pursuit of history

Patrick Mahomes couldn’t help himself.

A couple hours after leading the Kansas City Chiefs to an AFC championship victory over the Buffalo Bills — a triumph that clinched the team’s third consecutive trip to the Super Bowl and the fifth in the last six seasons — Mahomes pulled out his cell phone, fired up the good ol’ Twitter/X app, loaded the iconic Kermit sipping tea meme and sent out the message: “I’ll see y’all in New Orleans! #ChiefsKingdom.”

It was a slick clapback. Kermit jokes are nothing new for Mahomes, who has long been ribbed for the way his unique voice reminds many of the Muppets star. During training camp, members of the Las Vegas Raiders mocked their divisional rival with a Kermit puppet wearing a curly wig and red No. 15 jersey. Mahomes got the last laugh in the form of a regular-season sweep. Ahead of the Chiefs’ regular-season road game against the Bills in November, some fans found humor in hanging a Kermit the Frog doll in a similar wig-and-jersey getup high above a street outside Highmark Stadium (the racist overtones many saw in the image are likely the reason it stuck in Mahomes’ mind).

Buffalo won that regular season game. However, Mahomes again laughed last, in the game that really mattered. He ripped out the hearts of the Bills and their fans with one of his most dominant performances of the season, ending Buffalo’s Super Bowl hopes for the fourth time in the last five years.

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Mahomes’ meme deployment represented both a good-natured rubbing of salt in the Bills’ wounds, and a wink directed at the increasing number of football fans who would love to see anyone but Mahomes and the Chiefs hoist yet another Lombardi Trophy.

The Chiefs have officially taken over as football’s Evil Empire. They replaced the New England Patriots, who under the direction of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady dominated the NFL for the better part of two decades. The Patriots won six Super Bowls while appearing in nine from 2002-19. One season after losing to those same Patriots in the 2018 AFC Championship, Mahomes and the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl. Three years later, they won another, and then another, the first back-to-back champs since New England (in 2004 and ’05). And now they’re back in the Super Bowl again, going for an unprecedented three-peat.

It’s remarkable that dating back to Super Bowl XXXVI, played in February 2002, 14 of the last 24 Super Bowls have featured either the Patriots or the Chiefs, with New England winning six out of their nine appearances and the Chiefs winning three of four (with the outcome of the fifth to be determined). The dominance, however, has caused the Chiefs to — in the eyes of some fans — morph from fresh-faced underdogs into reviled power players whose prospect of continued success provokes feelings of nausea.

Is it logical? No.

Surprising? Not entirely.

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But there is a mindbending aspect to the speed at which some fans have turned on the Chiefs.

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Just a few short years ago, the Chiefs were viewed as the perfect antidote to decades of Patriots fatigue. They were everything New England was not.

Bill Belichick was the surly, personality-devoid leader of a franchise that required rigid adherence to the Patriot Way. Chiefs coach Andy Reid is the endearing, Hawaiian-shirt-wearing grandfatherly figure encouraging individuality while permitting his players to color outside of the lines.

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Non-Pats fans viewed Brady as arrogant, overly polished, calculated, demanding and robotic. Mahomes was unassuming, with a knack for making Houdini-esque escapes under pressure and delivering throws to any spot on the field — from every conceivable arm slot. Meanwhile, sidekick Travis Kelce was the fun-loving freelancer drawing as much praise for his colorful personality as he did his confounding route-running and clutch catches.

The Patriots’ critics branded them as cheaters because of the sign-stealing scandal and the Brady-related “Deflategate.” The Chiefs maintained a wholesome feel while building their dynasty through homegrown talent, smart financial moves and continuity both at the core of their roster and on their coaching staff.

Kansas City seemed to have the whole country behind them six years ago as they fell short against New England in that 37-31 overtime loss at Arrowhead Stadium, which preceded the final Lombardi trophy of the Patriots dynasty. And the Chiefs’ popularity only further skyrocketed the following season as Mahomes and Co. pulled off a comeback victory over San Francisco for the franchise’s first Super Bowl since the 1969 season.

Mahomes’ jersey became the NFL’s leading seller and his team took on a new crop of bandwagon fans. Kansas City and their quarterback and coach remained a marvel three seasons later as they rebounded from a Super Bowl loss to Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs to win a second Super Bowl a year later.

But somewhere between that second and third Super Bowl campaign, the feelings directed at Kansas City started to switch from fascination and fondness to fatigue and loathing. The distaste for the Chiefs has only increased this season.

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But why?

Is it envy over the way Mahomes always finds a way to get it done, winning 17 straight games decided by one score?

Is it the decrease of offensive fireworks as the Chiefs have reinvented themselves from a high-scoring machine to a defensive juggernaut, with Mahomes seemingly saving his difference-making plays for the closing minutes of games?

Is the off-the-field stuff, like the ubiquitous Reid-Mahomes commercials, or the constant coverage of Kelce’s relationship with pop icon Taylor Swift?

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All of the above? Probably.

Regardless, for many the rage has become blinding. That’s reflected in the silly-yet-increasingly popular school of thought that the Chiefs now receive preferential treatment from officials, part of a mandate from the NFL to ensure Kansas City wins another Super Bowl. Those who subscribe to this belief view every questionable penalty flagged against Kansas City’s opponents (a late hit as Mahomes slips out of bounds, a roughing the passer call as a foe grazes his helmet, a pass-interference flag to extend a drive) as evidence that the fix is in. They do so while, incredibly, ignoring all of the calls that officials botch in non-Chiefs games.

Those fans also never stop to consider a couple of other facts that would discredit their stance.

Young or poorly-constructed teams typically wilt in the most pressure-packed moments and tend to hurt themselves by committing ill-timed transgressions. Quality teams and coaches execute at their best in the face of pressure. So it should come as no surprise that the Chiefs — a franchise that, like New England during its reign, is as well-constructed and battle-tested as any in the league — don’t burn themselves at critical junctures. There’s nothing fluky about the bulk of those 17 one-score wins.

The NFL goes to great lengths to ensure parity — revenue sharing, salary cap, free agency, the draft process — because league officials know that competitive balance and an ever-changing slate of contenders and champions is good for business. It would make no sense to fix games for a small-market team like the Chiefs. If anything, the league would want to see the Jets and Giants, Bears and Cowboys emerge as juggernauts rather than trainwrecks.

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The haters seem to allow a blend of jealousy, boredom and obsession for the next big thing to cloud their critical thinking skills. And so, they parse through every play and every call in search of detracting factors. It’s the typical response of bitter fans of the hunters, directed at the hunted. Just ask the Patriots, Yankees, Dodgers, Lakers, Bulls, Golden State Warriors or any other dynasty.

If it’s not our team, we tire quickly of dominance. And rather than allow ourselves to appreciate historic feats, we distract ourselves with belly-aching, eye-rolling and teeth-gnashing over those unstoppable opponents.

In Mahomes, the NFL has a superstar piling up accomplishments at a rate that not even Brady proved capable of. Meanwhile, Reid continues to prove himself as one of the most creative masterminds in NFL history. How could you not appreciate such rare levels of greatness?

The Chiefs make no apologies for their excellence. By now, they’re a well-oiled machine powered by brilliant talent evaluators, creative coaches and special players willing to sacrifice to ensure that they have the best chance of extending what looks like another historic window of contention.

They’re also not bristling at all the hate. Instead, Mahomes and his teammates find it amusing. They embrace the role of the villain and continue their pursuit of history, which — sorry to break it to you — given the fact that Mahomes hasn’t even turned 30, could extend much longer.

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Hate on.

(Photo: Fernando Leon / Getty Images)

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2 NBA stars on the move in latest blockbuster deal: report

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2 NBA stars on the move in latest blockbuster deal: report

Two NBA stars are reportedly on the move Sunday, hours after the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis earlier in the day.

The Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs were finalizing a deal involving De’Aaron Fox and Zach LaVine, ESPN reported.

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Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox calls out to teammates during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Fox was traded to the Spurs and LaVine was traded to the Kings in the deal, according to the report. The Bulls will reportedly receive Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Heurter and a 2025 draft pick.

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The Kings guard is two seasons removed from his first All-Star appearance. He was averaging 25 points, 6.1 assists and five rebounds with the team before he was dealt. He has played for the Kings since the 2017-18 season.

LaVine, a two-time All-Star, had been with the Bulls since the 2017-18 season as well. He was mostly injured during the 2023-24 season but bounced back and played in 42 games this season. He’s averaging 24 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images)

Fox will now pair up with Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs are 21-25 this season and are about three games behind the Golden State Warriors for 11th in the Western Conference.

LaVine will team up with Domantas Sabonis. The Kings are two seasons removed from their playoff run in 2023. Sacramento has seen changes this season and the Fox trade appeared to be the end of it. The team fired head coach Mike Brow and replaced him with Doug Christie.

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The Kings are in 10th in the West with a record of 24-24. Chicago is in 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 21-28 record.

Zach LaVine drives

Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun, left, covers Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

San Antonio will also receive Jordan McLaughlin and the Kings will receive Sidy Cissoko, three first-round picks and three second-round picks.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

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After hometown World Series run, Jack Flaherty is heading back to Detroit

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After hometown World Series run, Jack Flaherty is heading back to Detroit

At the start of the offseason, Los Angeles native and Dodgers World Series champion Jack Flaherty voiced his desire to remain with his hometown team.

But it became clear long ago this winter that the Dodgers — who have replenished their rotation with marquee signings of Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki — wouldn’t have the room to bring him back.

So, Flaherty decided to return to his other 2024 club instead.

On Sunday night, Flaherty and the Detroit Tigers, the team that sent Flaherty to the Dodgers at the trade deadline last season, agreed to a two-year contract for $35 million, ESPN reported. Flaherty, who posted a picture to X of himself in a Tigers uniform after the news broke, will make $25 million in 2025 and have a $10-million player option in 2026 — creating the possibility he will be back on the free-agent market again next winter.

It was a little over a year ago that Flaherty first signed with Detroit, joining the Tigers last offseason on a one-year deal.

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Once a budding ace with the St. Louis Cardinals, Flaherty was looking to rebuild his stock after injury troubles and inconsistent performance. And in Detroit, the right-hander staged the turnaround he was hoping for.

In the first half of the season, Flaherty posted a 7-5 record and 2.95 ERA in 18 starts. With the Tigers then on the fringes of the playoff picture (they would later rally down the stretch to earn a wild-card berth), Flaherty became one of the top starters available on the midseason trade market.

On deadline day, the New York Yankees nixed a potential deal for Flaherty because of reported concerns over his medical records. That opened the door for the Dodgers, who were in desperate need of pitching help after a wave of injuries ravaged their rotation, to swoop in at the last second and add the Harvard-Westlake product to their undermanned staff.

Just as they hoped, Flaherty became a stabilizing force for the Dodgers on the mound. He went 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 10 starts down the stretch. And by the playoffs, he was one of only three healthy starters remaining on the roster, leading the team in innings pitched during their extended October campaign.

Jack Flaherty stands in the dugout during Game 1 of the NLCS against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium.

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(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Flaherty’s postseason performance was inconsistent. He twice led the club to key wins in Game 1 of both the National League Championship Series and World Series. But he also suffered several clunkers, including an eight-run outing in Game 5 of the NLCS and an abbreviated four-run start in Game 5 of the World Series.

The Dodgers, of course, overcame Flaherty’s struggles in the latter contest, rallying from the early hole to clinch the title at Yankee Stadium. And as Flaherty celebrated the championship, he held out hope of remaining with his favorite childhood team.

“I love this city,” Flaherty said during the team’s World Series parade. “I never want to leave. I never want to leave.”

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Despite that, Flaherty never seemed likely to stay with the Dodgers this winter.

The expectation was that he would cash in on his strong 2024 season to land a longer-term deal elsewhere. The Dodgers, meanwhile, added Snell (a two-time Cy Young Award winner) and Sasaki (a 23-year-old phenom from Japan) to a rotation that will also get Shohei Ohtani, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May back from injuries next season.

“I’m not going back to L.A. most likely — I can do the numbers, do the math,” Flaherty told Foul Territory last month. “It doesn’t bother me. I’m trying to go elsewhere and win and see if we can’t beat those guys.”

Flaherty didn’t ultimately get the long-term deal he was looking for (though he will earn a substantial 2025 salary and is positioned to test the free-agent waters again next season). However, he will get to return to a familiar setting in Detroit, rejoining a Tigers team he spoke highly of after his trade to the Dodgers.

“I really enjoyed my time with Detroit,” Flaherty said during the NLCS. “What those guys were able to do in the second half and the run that they made, I think, surprised a lot of people. I don’t think it really surprised me.”

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