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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.
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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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