Jack Flaherty is on the way back, but Detroit would be wise not to let that turn into a longer-term reunion.
The right-hander has been sidelined since late July with flexor inflammation, and the Tigers haven’t exactly been left scrambling without him. Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize are out too, yet Troy Melton, Jackson Jobe and Drew Anderson have taken on bigger jobs. None of that trio has been flawless, but the rotation hasn’t been the club’s biggest problem either.
Detroit sent Flaherty out on a rehab assignment Sunday, and his first outing looked encouraging enough: 1 1/3 innings, one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.
The plan is to get him back in Detroit before the regular season ends, even if the Tigers don’t actually use him in games that matter. A full starter’s workload may not be realistic, but he could still fill a piggyback role behind an opener.
"I think we owe it to him," AJ Hinch said. "He certainly feels responsible to us to get back and contribute something.
[...] I certainly hope that he pitches in the big leagues because he's worked hard to demonstrate his health."
That comment all but points to Flaherty’s looming free agency, which will be his third trip to the open market since the 2023-24 offseason.
There’s nothing wrong with Detroit using whatever remains of the schedule to help him build a case for other teams ahead of an expected lockout. But the Tigers should stop well short of making themselves a destination.
The upcoming free-agent class isn’t exactly loaded. Skubal stands alone at the top, and nobody else in the pool comes close to elite status. Add in the possibility of a looming lockout, and this shapes up as a messy, fast-moving market, with players likely eager to get deals done before the current CBA expires.
That dynamic could keep Flaherty affordable. He’s no longer the same kind of repair project Detroit signed to a prove-it deal before the 2024 season, but he still doesn’t look like a pitcher who should command much beyond a three-year contract, if that.
Scott Harris may be tempted to stick with what he knows and bring Flaherty back on another short-term arrangement. Starting pitching isn’t supposed to be at the top of the Tigers’ to-do list, but familiarity can be a dangerous thing.
Detroit needs to keep moving. Flaherty was trending in the right direction before the injury, but he’s been too inconsistent for the Tigers to keep running this experiment past 2026.
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