Right-hander Jack Flaherty and the Detroit Tigers are in agreement on a two-year, $35 million contract that includes an opt-out after the first season, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday night.
Flaherty returns to the Tigers after departing Detroit for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline.
Flaherty’s postseason performance with the Dodgers earned some attention around the league as he accomplished his goal last offseason: re-establish himself after an injury-marred, up-and-down career.
He reduced his regular-season ERA from 4.99 in 2023 to 3.17 last season, providing a big jump in production as he won games for the Tigers — who made the postseason after trading him — as well as the Dodgers, who won the World Series with his help.
In doing so, he earned a rare dual accomplishment: playoff shares from two teams.
Flaherty, 29, is young enough that he can still be considered an anchor in the rotation for his new team — though he might not be a top-of-the-rotation guy. His previous best season was with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2019, when he led the National League in WHIP and fewest hits per nine innings pitched.
He has lost about 1 mph on his fastball since, but his secondary pitches are as good as ever. Like a lot of pitchers who play deep into October, Flaherty might have hit a wall this past postseason, giving up 19 earned runs in 24 innings, but he has proved durable over the past few years after experiencing several injuries earlier in his career.
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers contributed to this report.