Jack Flaherty Says He Didn’t Want to Be Traded to Dodgers at Trade Deadline
A midseason trade landed starting pitcher Jack Flaherty with his hometown team for their World Series run. The Detroit Tigers traded Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers for catcher Thayron Liranzo and shortstop Trey Sweeney.
Although the season ended well for Flaherty, the eight-season MLB veteran did not want to be traded at the deadline.
“I wanted to stay in Detroit,” Flaherty said in an interview on Foul Territory. “We had conversations. I loved it there. I thought the combo of me and Skub (Tarik Skubal) was incredible.”
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The Tigers went on to make a surpise postseason run without Flaherty in the rotation. Detroit beat the Houston Astros in the American League Wild Card Series.
Then, the Tigers narrowly missed advancing to the AL Championship Series after falling to the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the NL Division Series. Detroit’s defeat came at the hands of outfielder Lane Thomas, who hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning.
“They get to Game 5 with Cleveland, they’ve got Skub on the mound, and Lane Thomas puts one swinging — that’s how the playoffs go,” Flaherty said.
The 29-year-old only spent half of a season with the Tigers. But, Flaherty expressed interest in heading back to Detroit next season.
“It was fun to watch what they did,” Flaherty said. “We’ve been talking to them, talking to other teams. It would be fun to go back there.”
Flaherty is the best free agent starting pitcher remaining on the market. He said in the interview that teams have reached out to him but have yet to propose any concrete deals.
He doesn’t expect to re-sign with the Dodgers.
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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Seems to enjoy burning his bridges!
Dude just needs to shut up. Gets a ring here and all he’s doing is trying to convince Detroit to resign him. Does he really need to whine everywhere about it? I realize out pitching staff was depleted and even with his overall mediocre stats in the playoffs, we don’t win it all without him, but seriously, just stop.
Yeah, you’ll be showing off the W.S. ring to everyone you meet,so just STFU
Before people start hating on Flaherty, he did not say that “he didn’t want to be traded to (the) Dodgers.” This author is being deceptive. Watch the whole interview with Foul Territory. All he said was that he didn’t want to leave Detroit, but he considered it an experience of a lifetime to play for the Dodgers and win a title. This guy has a better head on his shoulders than most players. Just salute his contributions to the 2024 World Champions and wish him well in 2025 and beyond. It’s that simple.
Yes, Cal, I agree, this is what I heard too. He liked Detroit and didn’t originally want to leave. Once here in LA he wanted to stay. He has said publicly he wants to stay in LA. He’s not anti Dodgers; he just wants to play somewhere. If Dodgers don’t want him back, he has to find somewhere else to play. I don’t blame him.