Three takeaways from Flaherty's return to Tigers
Jason Beck
@beckjasonDETROIT -- Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris was declarative last month when asked about being active on the market following the signing of free-agent reliever Tommy Kahnle.
¡°We¡¯re not done,¡± Harris said at the time.
A few days later, the Tigers reached an agreement to bring back starter Jack Flaherty on a two-year, $35 million contract, which became official on Friday.
So when Harris discussed the Flaherty signing with reporters on Friday, the question naturally came up: Are the Tigers still looking to add a bat?
¡°I feel like it¡¯s an evergreen comment, but we¡¯re always looking to make our team better,¡± Harris said this time. ¡°There¡¯s still a lot of free agents out there, and there¡¯s still a lot of trade conversations. I don¡¯t know that we¡¯re definitely going to be able to add, but we¡¯re looking to add.¡±
That¡¯s a little more open-ended, but as the Hot Stove season winds down, the Tigers are still open for business.
The one major free agent left is the one everyone wants to know about. The Tigers have been connected to third baseman Alex Bregman for at least two months. Bregman remains unsigned with Spring Training just over a week away for Tigers position players.
This isn¡¯t new territory for the Tigers. Gio Urshela, their primary third baseman last year, didn¡¯t sign with Detroit until last Feb. 22, after workouts had started. Unlike Urshela, who signed a one-year contract, Bregman reportedly has no interest in a short-term deal. MLB Network insider Jon Heyman and USA Today¡¯s Bob Nightengale reported Bregman is seeking a contract of at least six years.
The Tigers haven¡¯t signed a free agent to a contract that long since shortstop Javier B¨¢ez three years ago; that deal included a player opt-out after two seasons. But while the Tigers have added to their 2025 payroll with a busy offseason, they¡¯ve kept their long-term finances fairly open. That includes Flaherty, whose contract includes an opt out after year one.
¡°The way we structured the contract, our thought was, ¡®He¡¯s still young. He deserves another bite of the apple as a free agent,¡¯¡± Harris said. ¡°If he does, he¡¯s still qualifying offer eligible, and [it] didn¡¯t cost a pick to sign him, so there is some sort of tale of value there.
¡°If something unforeseen happens here, we would love to have him back, and we¡¯d try to figure out a value that makes sense for both sides.¡±
Thus, while the Tigers have added Flaherty, Kahnle, second baseman Gleyber Torres and starter Alex Cobb, the only players under guaranteed contract past this season are Flaherty, B¨¢ez (through 2027) and infielder Colt Keith (through 2029, with team options through ¡¯32).
Asked how Flaherty¡¯s signing impacts their ability to make more moves, Harris said, ¡°I think the biggest reason it helps us is we¡¯re a better team now, and generally players want to join better teams. So I think we¡¯re a more appealing destination because of the pitching staff we were able to build this winter. As far as finances, I can¡¯t really get into what additional flexibility this provides.¡±
As the Hot Stove season winds down, Harris¡¯ first words on Flaherty¡¯s return could be just as important.
¡°First and foremost, we want players who want to be here,¡± Harris said, noting Flaherty¡¯s persistent interest in rejoining Detroit.
What¡¯s next for Jobe?
Flaherty¡¯s signing further stacks Detroit¡¯s rotation, but it creates a crowded competition for the last spot behind Tarik Skubal, Flaherty, Cobb and Reese Olson. That could have an impact on top pitching prospect Jackson Jobe (No. 5 overall, per MLB Pipeline).
The Tigers would like Jobe to earn a spot out of Spring Training. It would arguably be in their best interest thanks to MLB¡¯s Prospect Promotion Incentive, which awards teams with an extra Draft pick after the first round if an eligible prospect earns a full season of service time as a rookie and wins his league¡¯s Rookie of the Year Award or finishes in the top three for Cy Young or MVP.
¡°We¡¯re going to do what¡¯s best for Jackson and our team,¡± Harris said. ¡°We¡¯re not going to caught up in all of those other distractions. Jackson¡¯s going to have a long, successful career as a Tiger, and we¡¯re really excited to see it. But at every turn, we¡¯ve got to do what¡¯s best for him and what¡¯s best for our team.¡±
No bullpen shifts for now
The Tigers leveraged ¡°pitching chaos¡± to a playoff berth last season due in part to a dearth of reliable starters. With Flaherty on board, that shouldn¡¯t be an issue this year. If the Tigers do bullpen starts and openers this year, it¡¯ll be because manager A.J. Hinch wants to.
Beyond Jobe, that puts pitchers like Casey Mize, Matt Manning, Keider Montero, Kenta Maeda and Brant Hurter in an intriguing spot. All of them could serve as starting-pitching depth or shift to relief roles, adding innings to a bullpen that carried a heavy workload last year.
¡°We haven¡¯t told anyone they¡¯re transitioning to the bullpen,¡± Harris said. ¡°I think adding Jack makes our rotation and our bullpen better. Exactly how that works, I¡¯m not quite sure yet until we get to the end of Spring Training. In the modern game, you have to expect pitching injuries and underperformance. Whether we like it or not, it¡¯s coming. And we tried to get out ahead of it by taking a volume approach to our pitching staff. We wanted to have as many options as possible.¡±