Tigers sign RHP Jack Flaherty to two-year free agent contract

DETROIT ¨C The Detroit Tigers have signed RHP Jack Flaherty to a two-year, $35,000,000 contract for the 2025-26 seasons with a player opt-out after the first season. Flaherty will receive a $5,000,000 signing bonus and earn a $20,000,000 salary in 2025. His 2026 salary is $10,000,000, which could increase to $20,000,000 if he makes 15 starts in 2025. The contract also includes a one-time assignment bonus of $500,000.

Flaherty, 29, rejoins the Tigers after starting the 2024 season with the club in advance of being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 30. The righthander signed a one-year deal with Detroit last offseason and had a resurgent season, going 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA (106.2IP/35ER) in 18 starts, 11 of them quality starts. He commanded the strike zone especially well, posting 11.22 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 rates with the Tigers, which were on pace to be his best full-season marks, respectively, prior to being traded. Flaherty went 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA (55.1IP/22ER) in 10 regular season starts for the Dodgers before making five postseason starts, including a 7.0-scoreless inning gem in a Game 1 win in the NLCS vs. the Mets, and ultimately helping the Dodgers to the World Series championship.

Overall, Flaherty went 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA (162.IP/57ER) with 194 strikeouts, only 38 walks and a 0.96 WHIP in 28 regular-season starts between the Tigers and Dodgers in 2024, while his 10.78 K/9 rate ranked third-best and his 5.11 K/BB rate ranked eighth-best in the majors. Flaherty¡¯s 13 wins were a career best while his 162.0 innings pitched and strikeout total were his most since 2019 with St. Louis (196.1IP, 231K), when he went 11-8 with a 2.75 ERA (196.1IP/60ER) en route to a fourth-place finish in N.L. Cy Young Award voting and a spot on the All-MLB second team.

The 2025 season will mark Flaherty¡¯s ninth in the majors after previously pitching for the Cardinals (2017-23), Baltimore Orioles (2023), Tigers (2024) and Dodgers (2024). He has a 55-41 record and 3.63 ERA (829.2IP/335ER) with 942 strikeouts and 292 walks. He has been part of four playoff teams, combining to make 10 appearances (nine starts).

Flaherty was traded to the Dodgers for infielder Trey Sweeney and catcher Thayron Liranzo. Sweeney, 24, went on to make his major league debut and appear in 36 games (33 starts at shortstop) down the stretch as the Tigers qualified for the post-season for the first time in 10 years. Sweeney then was the starting shortstop in all seven Tigers playoff games. Liranzo is ranked 69th on Baseball America¡¯s Top 100 Prospects list for 2025.

Born in Burbank, CA, Flaherty attended Harvard-Westlake (CA) High School from where St. Louis drafted him in the first round (34th overall) of the 2014 MLB Draft.